Collapse from Misunderstandings
by storytell18
Summary: Spin-off of Silently Watches' Misunderstandings series. See the tale of how the Titans deteriorate as Team Black Magic continues to flourish. M for violence, language, sex/nudity, and drug use
1. Chapter 1: Moving On

**Chapter 1  
Moving On**

Okay readers, this is a spin-off story from SilentlyWatches' _Misunderstandings_ series. Before you flame me, SilentlyWatches did give me the green-light to go ahead with this story, so I will. This story will largely have three plots running but you will be able to tell them apart. In terms of structure, I will try to get it as similar as I can to this story's predecessors. This is primarily a holding place chapter - I am unlikely to write chapter 2 until I finish _The Dark Army_ and/or _Second Chance_.

The first plot, and the main one, chronicles Aqualad and Speedy as they eventually leave the Titans and join the Perseus Initiative (the same organization that Raven, Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth work for). The second plot will largely chronicle the remaining Titans and how they begin to fragment apart. The third plot will deal with Team Black Magic and the various missions they run as well as advancing Raven and Jinx's relationship.

Okay, this story will have a few scenes of yuri (some more elaborate or better than others) - I think I am not crap at writing them but I probably have yet to fully master them.

**Disclaimer:** Even though Trigon was said to be a demon, was Raven ever explicitly said to be a half-demon (we're not including _Teen Titans Go_ for this question)? If not, I don't own the Teen Titans franchise; it belongs to DC Entertainment, Glen Murakami, and Warner Bros., nor do I own the _Misunderstandings_ story, which belongs to SilentlyWatches.

Now, let's begin this story.

* * *

All Saint's Day. Cyborg and Lisa were walking into the living room, fairly somber. It has been twenty minutes since the events downtown left one man dead and three more injured. Cyborg thought, _I can't believe she's really gone. Maybe if Robin was less of a dick, we wouldn't have lost her_.

Lisa asked, "What are we going to do now, Cy?"

Cyborg responded, "You prepare the medical bay for Rob, BB, and Star. They are going to need it after what happened back there. I'm going to contact the Titans East and tell them about what happened. Better I tell them than Robin or the news."

"You got that right. Last thing we need is more people against our side."

Lisa walked out of the living room as Cyborg proceeded to walk up to the command center console. He first checked the video cameras in the panic room to see what happened that caused the departed Titan to look so completely different.

He saw several women that looked exactly like the former Titan manifest themselves around her. _Those look like, no wait a minute, they are her Emoticlones. She brought them out to this world, but why?_

Cyborg got his answer as he continued to watch the camera feed, seeing the cloaked females become two distinct entities - one cloaked in blue, the other cloaked in blood-red. He watched as the red one attempted to kill the other, as she proclaimed her desire to escape.

Suddenly, the blue cloaked Titan broke free of the now demonic red one and reintegrated her into herself. He then watched as her appearance dramatically changed as black energy swarmed around the Tower, causing a surge that cut the camera feed. _That's why she looked so different - it was her emotions merging together. Her demonic half and human half became one demonling._

Cyborg proceeded to download the video footage from the Tower console onto his own systems before deleting the footage from the server. _Probably for the best if they didn't know what happened._

With that handled, Cyborg began a video conference with the Titans East, where it would be early evening over there and almost time for the news. He hoped that Bumblebee and the others would not have found out about what happened before he told them.

After a minute connecting to the console over at Titans East (and waiting for a reply), he heard a familiar voice respond. _"Sparky? Why are you calling? Normally, it's Rob..."_

Cyborg interrupted her with, "Bee, get your team here now. There's something important I need to tell you guys, hopefully before the news does."

Bumblebee called out, _"Aqualad, Speedy, Mas, Menos, report to the command console now!"_

Mas and Menos were the first two to report to the living room, seeing as they were super-fast when they touched each other. They asked, _"Senor Cyborg, ¿qué nos está diciendo?"_

A few moments later, Aqualad came into the living room, saying "What are we here for Bee? Cyborg?"

Cyborg responded, "You'll know why I'm calling in a minute. Just waiting on...speak of the devil."

Speedy walked into the living room, asking _"What the hell are you calling me for, now? I was doing my hair?"_

Cyborg said, "Good, you're all here. I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Bumblebee urged, _"Spit it out sparky!"_

Cyborg said, "Raven quit the team today."

Speedy blurted out, _"Holy shit! What happened?"_

Cyborg explained, "Today was her birthday and from what little she has said, it was a coming-of-age thing for her. You should have seen her. She looked completely different."

Aqualad asked, _"What do you mean?"_

Cyborg continued, "Her hair was much longer, going down to I think her elbows, her fingernails became claws, she had blood-red tattoos going down her legs, her eyes became four red slits in the dark, and her chakra stone became a Mark of Scath."

Speedy interrupted, _"Mark of Scath? What the hell is that?"_

"It was the symbol of her father, the Demon Lord Trigon. The tattoos looked like the prophecy runes when Slade was working for Him."

Bumblebee asked, _"Hold up, Sparky. When was this prophecy?"_

"About twenty months ago. Raven destroyed her father, and the world went back to the way it was. You're welcome. Anyway, we called her after we realized that Dr. Light had gotten some help from the same person that upgraded Mumbo, Rancid, Control Freak, and the White Monster. We saw her new appearance and she definitely gained power too. Even though Light was hammering us, Raven kicked his ass in mere seconds.

"Unfortunately before we could interrogate him, Raven sucked him into her cloak and when she spat him out, Light was officially brain-dead. Robin and Starfire protested her actions but Raven justified them, saying that it was commonplace in her home and that criminals need to be told the consequences of crimes."

Speedy interjected, _"Like with her chopping off Mumbo's hand?_"

"Yes. Soon after, Beast Boy remembered that Raven separated one of his memories, one where he saw Raven with Jinx."

Bumblebee inquired, _"Jinx? The HIVE bad luck charm who you had a crush on and later joined and quit the Titans?"_

"The very same. Raven confirmed it, saying they weren't romantically involved when he modified his memories. Then, Robin said that they were going to take her down. Raven challenged him by revealing that he made a contingency plan for her six months ago called Operation Exorcist. A cage warded to keep her from escaping and then Robin could bind her powers or banish her. Apparently, the people of Azarath, her home dimension, felt something similar when they _exiled_ her here."

Aqualad blurted, _"Exiled? I thought that she left for anything else. A Titan and a refugee."_

"Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy all tried to take her down with Lisa and I abstaining from the fight, probably for the better as Raven cleaned their clocks. Pinned Robin beneath a car, struck Beast Boy with a caught starbolt, and encased Star with a cage made of light. Raven then resigned from the Titans and said goodbye before leaving."

Mas asked, _"¿Dónde está la señorita Raven ahora?"_

Speedy translated (more or less from what Mas said), _"So, where's Raven? Is she a criminal?"_

Cyborg added, "From what Raven said, she's going to help Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth leave their criminal pasts behind. What I don't know is, just what are they going to do now?"

Bumblebee asked, _"So why are you telling us this?"_

"Two reasons. One, if Robin told you, he would have proclaimed Raven betrayed us and distorted the facts completely. Secondly, I didn't want you to hear this from the news."

Aqualad added, _"Okay, Cyborg. Will we ever see Raven again?"_

"Doubtful, unless chance happens to be in our favor. See you later."

With that, Cyborg cut the power, ending the video conference. He then continued to check Raven's file and saw that it was completely blank. _She erased her personal information from the system._

A second later, Lisa came into the living room and said, "Cy, I got the medical bay set for the others when they come back. And all of Raven's stuff is gone. Her bedroom is empty."

Cyborg asked, "She took everything?"

Lisa commented, "Well, she did leave her tea behind. Probably didn't get a chance to take it wherever she was."

Cyborg noted, "It looks like Raven was planning to leave for a little bit now. She knew about Robin's contingency plan for her, she and Jinx were probably becoming closer, her stuff's gone and her file's been erased from the system."

* * *

Back in Steel City, Speedy was getting ready for bed. He placed his bow and arrows in a rack next to his dresser, which contained a second bandolier of arrows and a second bow (which has proven useful when his own is out of service). Speedy stripped off his red shirt and pants before putting over his black underwear a set of light red pajama pants and a dark red T-shirt.

He glanced over to his desk, where he saw his arrow-making equipment (so he could make his trick arrows) intact, pleasing him that nobody went into his room. _Thinking about who went into my room, I bet Raven did the same as a Titan._

He then heard knocking on the door. He grabbed his bow and a plain arrow and took aim at the doorway. Speedy yelled out, "Who is it?"

The response he heard was, "Let me in, Roy."

Speedy put down the bow and arrow, placing them back into the rack before unlocking the door, seeing Aqualad before him in his blue nightshirt and green pajama pants.

Speedy greeted, "What is it, Garth?"

Aqualad (or his real-name of Garth), sat down onto Speedy's chair, looking at Speedy as if he had something to say.

Garth said, "I was just thinking about Raven. That came completely out of the blue. How did it happen?"

"I guess nobody looked at the signs. Raven was alone for so long. She had her secrets to hide, and Jinx was able to win her over. We should have been closer to her. I'm really gonna miss her."

"She was a lot like Karen. Stubborn, sarcastic, dangerous, intellectual. What do you think is going to happen now?"

"I watched the news reports of Raven's departure. The media shitted all over the story, apparently going along the lines of what Robin said. Team leader my ass. His arrogance will be the end of him and his inability to admit he is wrong will completely shipwreck us."

"Roy, what do you think is going to happen to us? The Titans, I mean? Will we be able to stay together?"

"I don't know, Garth. I just don't know. There's going to be a media frenzy in Jump and every big player still in the city will be trying to take down the Titans there and here. At the moment, it looks like we're all hanging on by a thread."

"What do you think will happen if the Titans break up? I was considering returning to Atlantis, but it's not a perfect idea."

"I don't know where I'd go if we break apart. Can't go back to Starling City, but this is really all I know. I think Mas and Menos would go back home to Guatemala. They have mentioned that a few times recently. Can't say I know about Bee."

"So where do you think Raven and Jinx are headed? Not a whole lot of possibilities for a half-demon and three criminals. Hiding may be their best option. You think we'll see them again?"

"I think we'll see them again and I doubt they're going to hide. It'd simply be impossible. Good night, Garth."

"Good night, Roy." With that, Aqualad got up from the chair in Speedy's room and walked out. Speedy thought, _Garth is right. Perhaps we are due for a break-up. Question is, how long until the inevitable strikes?_

* * *

Raven and Jinx were in the HIVE Five base, even though it was now just the four of them - Raven, Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth. Raven had changed into the dress Jinx had given her after she arrived and was now talking with Gizmo and Mammoth.

Gizmo said, "I saw the fight between you and the other Titans. Bet it feels bittersweet, huh?"

Raven replied, "It was. Jinx said she felt something similar after she betrayed you guys and the Brotherhood. That guilt caused her to break up with Kid Flash."

Mammoth said, "I can't believe that you joined our side, Raven. Five years ago, I was pounding you in the Titans gym."

Raven responded, "Things change, Baran. Five years ago, I thought the world wouldn't exist now."

Gizmo inquired, "The prophecy? Jinx told us after you came close to killing her in the sack."

Raven noted, "I thought that fate was inevitable, but the Titans helped me overcome it and I eliminated my father."

Gizmo said, "Trigon. Wait a minute, are you a Demon Lord now? I know a little something about demonic law that a demon's conqueror gets his trophies."

"Yes. I am the Demon Lord for the Eighth Circle. One of the highest-ranking people in Hell. Only Neron is a higher Demon Lord."

Jinx walked up to her girlfriend and said, "Good thing she's on our side. I don't know what'd we do if we pissed her off."

Raven commented, "A few years ago, I would have probably ripped you to shreds when Trigon controlled my rage. Now, I don't know to be frank."

Mammoth added, "And let's not try to find out. What next, Jinx?"

Jinx said, "Thanks to Raven, we have the contact information for the Perseus Initiative. With her help, we could get in and our pasts should be behind us."

Gizmo noted, "Before Blood fucked our chances all up. Hard to believe that Brother Blood was a demon worshipper."

Raven said, "So, it's a good thing that Blood is locked away tight. He's never going to escape." It's true - after Brother Blood was captured by Cyborg and the Titans, the former was imprisoned inside a magnetic cell so small that Blood could not move at all with his mental powers being dampened with cuffs along his feet and a collar on his neck.

With that, Jinx said, "I think it's time we hit the sack. Goodnight, Giz, Baran."

Mammoth and Gizmo say at the same time, "Night Jinx, Night Raven."

With that, Gizmo and Mammoth both walk away from the two pale females. Gizmo asked Mammoth, "What do you think about Raven?"

Mammoth said, "I like her, personally. I think this one might work out."

Gizmo added, "I hope so. Her heart has already been hit twice by Tin Man and the Speed Freak. She and Raven are already so similar, this relationship just might work out."

Mammoth noted, "I hope it does, too. For all of us. Your prediction that Raven wouldn't have to choose came wrong, and she did have to choose between Jinx and her former friends. If this goes south, I don't know what to tell you."

* * *

Raven and Jinx went back to Jinx's bedroom, or should it now be, their bedroom. Soon after entering, Raven and Jinx entered a passionate kiss as the two kicked off their footwear.

Jinx asked, starting to pant inbetween her words, "So now...are you safe for...sex?"

Raven said, "My emotions are now a part of me, no longer entities, so my powers shouldn't overflow."

"Only one way to put it to the test."

In just two quick moves, Jinx's dress fell away from the pinkette as Raven phased out of her new dress.

Raven levitated the two of them up to Jinx's fifteen foot high bed, not getting beneath the covers as their actions were already making them hot. Raven, now on top, was licking one of Jinx's nipples as one of her hands rubbed Jinx's private area, thankful for the lack of pubic hair present (since Jinx's metahuman traits also prevented her from developing pubic hair).

Jinx moaned as Raven continued her sexual work on her girlfriend, moving around her supple nipples as she slickened up Jinx's tightness with her touch.

This reached its desired effect as Jinx soon reached climax. Jinx said, "Now, I'm the one on top."

Jinx and Raven switched places on the bed, with Jinx now on top. As Jinx used her hands to softly rub Raven's breasts, her tongue made its way into Raven's own private area (which also lacked pubic hair, a trait present in demons as well). Raven thought, _This is much more preferable to hearing Richard and Koriand'r doing it while we are **trying **to sleep._ As for Gizmo and Mammoth, they could soundproof their rooms so they didn't hear but they chose not to do it, listening in on their leader doing it with her girlfriend.

Raven loudly cried out as Jinx's work proved successful, resulting in a climax that spilled Raven's goods into Jinx's watering mouth.

* * *

A reporter walked out towards Jump City Hall, where dozens of reporters, dignitaries, and other citizens were present awaiting a press conference.

The reporter said, "Good morning, today we are awaiting Mayor Joshua Hamilton to deliver his press conference with Titans leader founder about the future of the Titans following the dramatic turn of events that occured on November 1st, when Raven left the Titans after leaving Doctor Arthur Light comatose and three Titans wounded after they tried to bring her into custody."

A second later, Mayor Hamilton walked out onto the podium outside where everybody was waiting. Robin soon followed, slightly limping as his right leg was in a bit of pain - being pinned underneath a car does that to a person.

Mayor Hamilton started with, "Good morning. Two days ago, Jump City was struck with a grave injustice when one of the team's founders, a person dedicated to stopping crime, betrayed the people she worked with and savagely murdered a criminal in cold blood before attacking her teammates, the three that wanted to bring in this threat while the others watched and did nothing. Anything you would like to add, Robin?"

Robin stepped up to the podium and said, "Good morning. Raven's betrayal to us was truly shocking but unfortunately not unexpected. As early as two months ago, I was beginning to suspect she would turn on the city. My suspicions gained ground when she sliced off the hand of stage criminal Mumbo Jumbo and later solidifed upon her brutal attack on the Summerland Avenue Bank that left two criminals permanently injured. They were confirmed when we were fighting Dr. Light. I will now take questions."

The crowd quickly raised their hands in a frenzy, begging for the opportunity to ask a question. Robin pointed to one reporter and he asked the Boy Wonder, "Robin, why was Raven not with you when you went after the White Monster and why did she show up late to the battle with Doctor Light?"

Robin answered, "Shortly before the White Monster attack, I suspended Raven from duty for recklessness and almost hurting several members of the team. We called her in to Doctor Light when Cyborg believed that somebody was giving the villains in this city an edge. Unfortunately, calling her in proved to be a grave mistake as she finally revealed who she really was. Next question."

Many of the others in the crowd raised their hand before Robin picked the next person to ask a question. She asked, "Do you intend to replace Raven?"

Robin replied, "Yes. We already have replaced Raven with a geomancer formerly known as Terra before she suffered global retrograde amnesia. We are witholding her name until she can pick her new identity. Next question."

More people shot up their hands to ask a question, with the next question asked being, "Robin, why do you believe that Raven had turned against you?"

Robin responded, "She...was born to a less-than-noble father who was nothing more than an extra-dimensional tyrant that tried to conquer the Earth almost two years ago. Raven simply succumbed to her infernal heritage and became evil as her new appearance showed, when she finally revealed her true colors. Next question."

The next person asked Robin, "What would be advised if confronted by Raven?"

"Do not trust her. Avoid her at all costs. Report sightings of her and her new _associates_ to police. She will be taken down, no matter what the price. She will pay for her deception."

The next question asked was, "Who are these new associates of Raven?"

Robin answered, "Three former HIVE students. Gizmo, short tech prodigy. Mammoth, powerful brute. And their leader and who we believe is Raven's _girlfriend_, the former Titan Jinx. She left the Honorary Titans upon her break-up with Kid Flash after she was discovered to be aiding and abetting HIVE criminals. Any other questions?"

One reporter shot up his hand and asked, "Robin, before all of this went down, what was your personal opinion of Raven?"

Robin was a bit surprised by that comment, but he was expecting it to come sooner or later. After hesitating for a moment, he replied, "Before Raven betrayed us, I thought of her as a close friend, a confidant. She was an instrumental player in the Titans, a valuable member whose presence will be missed. She saved our lives countless times until she tried to end them. Now, I realize that she was trying to siphon off our secrets, she was nothing more than a spy, a traitor. She never meant anything to me. Raven may decide to play the field, but I know that my heart belongs to one woman, Starfire. Thank you."

With that, Robin left the podium, heading back for his R-cycle as photographers and reporters continued to take pictures of the Boy Wonder. He thought to himself, _Soon, she will be found. I better make sure that Operation Exorcist is ready for her containment._

He got onto his R-cycle, put on his helmet, and proceeded to drive away from the press conference.

* * *

Soon after Robin left the press conference, he returned to the Tower so he could begin the manhunt for the four criminals. After setting down his motorcycle in the garage and taking off his helmet, Robin walked into the Tower.

Before he could reach the console, he was suddenly encased with rocks and trapped against a wall. Robin looked up as he saw Lisa coming towards him, now looking incredibly pissed off.

Lisa said, "You are full of shit, Robin. Telling the public that Raven always was an enemy, that she was always evil. You may have just hit an all-time low, even worse than you becoming Slade's apprentice."

Robin shrieked, "How did you know that? Did you even know what I was going through at the time?"

"Yes, Cyborg told me a lot about Terra's past. The fact that you were trying to save the others is accounted for, making your bullshit press conference your true all-time low."

"Why are you referring to yourself in the third-person? You _are _Terra. Maybe I should have you hauled in for betraying us to Slade almost four years ago."

Another voice answered, "No you shouldn't. When Lisa emerged in the cave, Terra died. Don't you remember your own words at that press conference. Even though most of it was fabricated propaganda, you said that Terra suffered global retrograde amnesia, meaning that she will never regain those memories. How can she be tried if she is a completely different person from the one that worked for Slade?"

Cyborg came out, now looking right at Robin, now pissed off. Robin cried out, "Because she still committed crimes! She just stood by when Raven attacked us! Same with you."

Lisa commented, "If I remember correctly, you charged at her before she defended yourself. Robin, you arrogant bastard, you always think you're right, well you're dead fucking wrong! You went after an unarmed citizen, one who didn't commit any crimes. If anyone is to be charged with a crime, it is you, Beast Boy, and Starfire. If I were you, I'd hope that you never see Raven again, because if she sees you, chances are she will want to kill you. Capiche?"

Robin lamented, "Capiche."

With that, Lisa released Robin from the rock bonds before stepping aside to have Cyborg have a chat with the Boy Blunder.

Cyborg added, "You attacked Raven when she was preparing to _leave_. This could have ended without conflict. Now, we've lost Raven and Beast Boy is gonna be stuck in the infirmary for some time."

Robin said, "That might not have happened if you two intervened. Combined, the five of us could have taken her down. Brought a traitor to justice."

"I seriously doubt that. She was more powerful than us before, now look at her, she'd be able to destroy us before she even blinks. I wouldn't test that theory any day. And besides, she didn't betray us. _We betrayed her_. We ignored her, took her for granted, treated her like a tool. It was impossible for her to stay, but you refused to let her leave. Was it that she betrayed the team or was it you were losing your biggest asset? Tell me!"

"You're right, Cyborg. But her actions were inexcusable nonetheless. She is now associated with three criminals and I am going to take them down. All of them, no matter what they've done for the team."

With that, Robin stormed out of the room, leaving Lisa and Cyborg alone. Lisa commented, "For all our sakes, let's hope that they never see Raven again." Lisa thought, _Whatever you do Raven, do **not** return to Jump. Please, for everybody._

* * *

In the HIVE hideout, the four teammates met at the table to "talk shop", since they were not eating and thus not breaking the HIVE meal policy.

Gizmo said, "Well, Robin just sent out four 'be on the look out' warnings, one for the each of us. What do we do now?"

Jinx suggested, "I think it's time we auditioned for Perseus. Raven, can you do an invisibility spell?"

Raven replied, "I can, especially since Wisdom's library is now a part of my direct mind, so I can access it whenever I choose."

Mammoth added, "You talk about your emotions as if they were people?"

Raven responded, "That's because they were, more or less. Technically mental manifestations that I merged together on my birthday, resulting in my appearance. So, Jinx, what's the plan?"

* * *

Two days later, Robin was awaiting results on the four BOLOs for each member of the HIVE squad, including Raven. Thus far, the quartet had done an excellent job of staying hidden, since the team could never find their new base without some sort of trick up their sleeve.

Starfire came into the living room where her love, Robin, was working on tracking the HIVE and their rogue team member. She asked, "Robin, have you gotten any luck in your search for Traitor Raven?"

He responded, "No luck. It's like they're invisible or they can sustain themselves on next to nothing, since they keep coming back after being beaten. With Raven on their side, there's no telling what they could do. They'd have no trouble winning. That's why we need to find them."

Suddenly, Robin got a beeping from the computer, as if the computer got a match. He thought, _speak of the devil, we got a result_. Starfire asked, "What did the person say?"

Robin pulled up the screen to see what exactly the tipster had sent. Robin spoke, "They say they saw a pale-skinned woman in a blue cloak entering an abandoned warehouse outside of town. Probably their core shop. Starfire, let's go. Lisa and Cy won't come and BB can't."

With that, Robin and Starfire flew over to the warehouse, ready to ambush the four inside. Windows were closed and shut so nobody could see who was inside, nor could they see who was outside.

Robin told Starfire, "Behind me. I'll take Gizmo and Raven. You take Mammoth and Jinx. On three. One, two, three."

With that, Robin kicked down the door and pulled out his bo-staff, looking around for any signs of others. Upon noticing just how dark the place was, Starfire lifted a starbolt to provide some light for the duo. They noticed that not only nobody was there, but _nothing_ was there, like the place was completely empty and nobody had been there.

Robin walked around a little and noticed a note on the ground. He grabbed the note and saw it read:

_Dear kludgeheads,_

_If you are reading this, you obviously followed the tip we sent you. We aren't coming back to Jump City anytime soon and we took everything with us. Maybe you shouldn't be pushing such vivid threats._

_-Gizmo_

Robin crumpled up the note before throwing it aside, looking for any clues as to where the four have gone. He quickly went up to what appeared to be the gym and saw that there was another note there.

It said:

_Titans,_

_Goodbye. You already did our leader bad twice, one more time and it's to hell with all of you. If you're reading this, you're even dimmer than Gizmo thought you were._

_-Mammoth_

Robin angrily left the gym, trying to find any sign of where they went, but had no luck thus far. He continued walking until he saw Raven's cloak and leotard, which they had evidently left behind. Robin thought, _Guess they didn't take everything. Besides, if Raven had taken everything, she'd have spare leotards and cloaks._

He examined the discarded uniform until another note came out of the uniform.

It read:

_To the Titans,_

_I think we should end this feud once and for all. Recall the BOLOs on us and we will not cause you any more trouble. Actually, you're going to recall those BOLOs or else some higher powers will be looking at you guys. We're sure of it._

_-Jinx_

Robin thought to himself, _Threatening us if we don't call off the search. Wrong move, Jinx._

Starfire announced, "I found another note. This one is from the grzzt'glog Raven."

Robin quickly ran over to Starfire as they read the note. It said:

_Dear Titans,_

_After some of you blatantly attacked me and I responded in defense, I told Cyborg and Lisa that I intended to help Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth leave their criminal pasts behind. And now, you have nothing to come after us with, I assure you that. Coming after us will ensure your demise. Now, my parting words to the each of you._

_Richard, like I said to you earlier, you are simply too arrogant, too bossy, too ignorant. You are a terrible leader. If you hope to continue the Titans, you need to accept you are not the moral compass you think you are._

_Koriand'r, this could have ended without conflict. You came from a warrior society where killing was a virtue, so why did you oppose my actions against Doctor Light? You perhaps are worse than Richard in some ways, but let's hope we never find out._

_Garfield, mature and you will become less of a pain, and maybe I wouldn't have had to collapse your memory of that night._

_Lisa, I wish you the best wishes on the Titans. I truly hope that you do not harbor the traits of your predecessor, Terra. While I know that, you need to make sure nobody else on the team does._

_Victor, perhaps we wound up closer than any other of the Titans, because of our common fear - succumbing to our other side, the one that made us who we are, for you, the robotics, for me, my demon lineage. We didn't grow up in a world of fighting, nor did Lisa, and we perhaps understood the true reality of what was going on. I will truly miss you and Lisa._

_-Raven_

_PS (to Victor): Gizmo did have me compare his computers to yours. While yours are more high-tech, I would have to say (unfortunately for you) that Gizmo has the better brain given how much he is able to accomplish on his much inferior machines._

Robin screamed in anger that the four had fooled him and instead left goodbye messages instead, saying they never would be coming back. _Okay, they're out of the city, so it's time we expanded the BOLOs to nationwide. That should catch the attention of other Titans, against two traitors and two criminals._

* * *

A few hours later, Robin arrived back at the Tower where Cyborg, Lisa, and a still bed-ridden Beast Boy were awaiting the trio. Robin asked, "What are you guys doing out here?"

Cyborg responded, "Someone needs to talk to you about your recent actions."

Robin asked, "Who?"

A familiar voice answered, _"Me."_

Robin turned around to see Batman on the main screen, looking at him with contempt (one of his few emotions).

Batman continued, _"Robin, what you have done is simply unacceptable. I saw the video feed of your fight with Light and then when you tried to take down Raven. You publically tried to destroy her reputation when she did anything wrong. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were prejudicing her for her parentage."_

Robin said, "I said nothing of her heritage. She's a criminal and so are the people she is with. They're wanted felons and I have to..."

Batman interrupted him with, _"No. You are not to pursue aggressive actions against any of the four. That is the reason I called."_

Starfire asked, "Master Batman, why are we not to go after the guys of bad that we are supposed to pursue?"

Batman answered, _"Because they are no longer criminals. I have received word that the four of them, Gizmo, Jinx, Mammoth, and Raven have received government pardons. Their slates are clean and all warrants against them have dropped. Unless you see them actively committing a crime, you are not to engage them or there will be serious consequences for all of the Titans. I suggest you take my words to heart."_

Robin reluctantly nodded and Batman cut the power, leaving the Titans alone. Cyborg and Lisa quickly left, leaving the three anti-Raven Titans present inside of the living room.

Robin said, "I don't care what Batman said. Raven is still a threat. We will find her, without Cyborg, Lisa, the League, or the other Titans. And we will give her proper punishment."

Beast Boy added, "Yes, dude."

Starfire added, "Agreed. The Raven must be caught at all costs."

* * *

**Okay, some of these were scenes I had wanted to see but were unwritten (primarily the one where Cy tells Titans East about Raven's departure and Batman informing the Titans of Raven's pardon). Now, we've set the stage for the three arcs of the story and it will develop. This story is taking place inbetween _Coincidence_ and _Consequence_, for your information.**

**storytell18 out.**


	2. Chapter 2: Going Up & After

**Chapter 2  
Going Up & After**

**SilentlyWatches:** It is fitting that you got to become the first reviewer for _Collapse from Misunderstandings_. I was trying to at least get the style of your story to match this spin-off and I used some of the developments that occurred in _Coincidence_ and _Consequence_ to get a level of plot down for _Collapse_. There will be a number of notable events on the side of the Titans (such as those referenced in _Consequence_, such as the death of Red-X and in this chapter, Robin sending Star and BB to Canada) and other events not mentioned that further disrupt the Titans. Based upon the portrayal of Robin and Starfire in both installments, you can be sure that they won't be very sympathetic. Beast Boy, on the other hand, I seemed to notice there was a bit of change regarding his attitude on Raven - he will get his moment of development sometime in the story - I'd say quite a bit into it. And thanks for the shout-out at the end of _Consequence_ - it gave a nice little boost to _Collapse_.

**amado15: **I think there was enough character movements - you just have to imagine it. Some things are better to be assumed.

**And to all of those who still doubt SilentlyWatches that this story had her involvment - this story was my idea, SilentlyWatches merely greenlit the story a few weeks ago (when I started). I am more than proud to be a part of the _Misunderstandings_ series, and even if she asked me to write this, I would do so very gladly.**

**Disclaimer:** Was Robin the only Titan to see Raven in less than her leotard (the "bikini" in _Birthmark_)? If so, I don't own the Teen Titans franchise; it belongs to DC Entertainment, Glen Murakami, and Warner Bros., nor do I own the _Misunderstandings_ story, which belongs to SilentlyWatches.

Now, let's continue the story.

* * *

Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth had finished moving their things from their former HIVE base to a storage facility at Fort Pell, Montana. After doing so, Gizmo sent a fake alert on the BOLO bringing Robin and Starfire to the now empty base. Raven, meanwhile, had brought some of her things to the facility at Fort Pell while the rest of her belongings remained in storage in Jump City.

Now at Fort Pell, their training for the Perseus Initiative could now begin. The four of them each knew what was at stake - not only was their entry to the world of mercenaries, but also their status as non-criminals. As Ruiz reminded them when they were first recruited only a few days earlier, "_Should you fail your basic or be deemed a disruptive element, you will be tried and convicted in a military tribunal for espionage and subsequently imprisoned."_

Jinx thought, _these stakes could not be much higher. Not just for us, but also for Raven. She gave up the Titans for us and if we fuck this up, she'll have nowhere to go._

Currently, the four members of the HIVE Five were awaiting their physicals in the doctor's office at Fort Pell. They needed to pass their physical if they were to move on to training - and if they failed it, they knew the consequences of it.

Suddenly, the doctor's assistant, a bright twenty-something medical student, called out in a light voice, "Nirupama Dasgupta, report for your physical."

Jinx thought, _Better now or never. This is it._

She got up from her chair and walked out into the doctor's office. Jinx soon met with the doctor, a Doctor Sam Whitaker. The doctor said, "Okay then, Miss Dasgupta."

Jinx requested, "Call me Jinx, please."

Dr. Whitaker smiled, "Okay then, Jinx. Let's begin. Please take off your dress."

Jinx complied, slipping off her black dress, leaving her just in a pink bra and a back pair of panties. Normally, Jinx was not wearing underwear, but she knew what a physical entailed, so she decided to wear underwear. And besides, there was only one person that Jinx would show herself in the buff to.

The doctor grabbed a stethoscope from his cabinet, putting the earbuds in his ears as he placed the bell on Jinx's chest, calmly hearing the beat of Jinx's heart, noticing that her heart was functioning normally, as if there was nothing wrong with it.

Then, the doctor shifted his focus from her heart to her lungs, monitoring how Jinx breathed, seeing if there was a problem that could manifest itself during training or on the field.

Much to Jinx's relief, her lungs were working normally - no noticeable defects that could prove to be a problem. _So far, so good. Just a little bit more, then it's on Baran, Giz, and Rae._

Then, the doctor put away the stethoscope and pulled out a sphygmomanometer (or blood pressure meter to people that are not doctors). He attached the strap around Jinx's arm and began to squeeze the air valve rapidly, testing to see the level of Jinx's blood pressure.

Jinx proved to have a desired blood pressure of one hundred eighteen over seventy-three (or 118/73). With blood pressure, pulse, and breath measured, it was now a test of Jinx's reflexes.

The doctor requested, "Please sit up on the table."

Jinx propped herself up on the table, awaiting for the doctor to begin the test. Dr. Whitaker grabbed a small hammer designed for testing reflexes and began testing the pinkette.

At random times, Whitaker motioned the hammer against Jinx's knee, testing just how long it took for Jinx to react to the impact, which ultimately proved to be remarkably quick. Jinx's reactions were naturally fast.

Once that was done, testing the reflexes on her knees and elbows, Jinx had the test of her eyes to see just how well she could see. The doctor pulled up a random eye chart to test Jinx's pink eyes. Few people knew that the doctor had several different eye charts so nobody could try to cheat and fake having good eyesight. The doctor had already seen several people try to cheat the system - they got kicked out of Perseus quickly afterwards, never getting a second chance. One of the big no-no's of getting into Perseus was lying on your application.

The doctor applied an eyepatch to Jinx's left eye before asking, "Please read the third row."

Jinx asked, "Letters or phonetics?"

The doctor replied, "Letters will suffice. Once you begin training, you will use phonetics."

Jinx quickly read off the letters, "C, F, E, L."

"Sixth row."

"W, Z, P, M, G, V, Q."

"Bottom row."

"A, X, I, U, B, H, D, J, N."

"Nice work. Now, let's proceed with the other eye."

The doctor flipped the eyepatch to Jinx's right eye. "Read the second row."

"K, O, R."

"Fifth row."

"U, X, F, E, G, M."

"Eighth row."

"A, C, H, W, R, Z, H, Y."

"Excellent work, Jinx. Now, let's proceed with the test of your ears."

The doctor pulled out a sort-of flashlight and used it to examine Jinx's ears, seeing if there were any defects that could affect her hearing. Much like the other components of Jinx's physical, her ears were found to be in condition for field duty.

"What next, doc?"

The doctor soon pulled out two miniature speakers, showing them to Jinx as he soon began to explain

"The hearing test and that will be it. Then, it will be Mr. Flinders' turn. I will be broadcasting sporadic noises on two sides.

"If you hear this noise", the doctor said as a low-pitched shriek emerged from the speaker on the left, "raise your right hand. If you hear this noise," he continued as a beep came from the speaker on the right, "raise your left hand. Got it?"

Jinx replied, "Got it. Let's begin."

The doctor placed the two speakers on small platforms before Jinx followed. He signaled Jinx that the test has begun, getting her alert for her ears to begin listening.

* * *

Back at Titans Tower, while the new Perseus recruits were getting their physicals, life continued for the Titans.

Robin and Starfire were currently in the medical bay with Beast Boy, who was still recovering from the massive damage inflicted upon him when he tried attacking Raven (and failed miserably when Raven sent one of Starfire's starbolts his way).

Starfire asked, "Love Robin, have you found anything on Traitor Raven?"

Robin responded, "No. Ever since we got that bogus BOLO result, they seem to have vanished off the face of the Earth. Even if we got a result, we can't go after them officially. If anyone finds out we're going after them, we'll be the ones in trouble."

Beast Boy lamented, "Because they got their slates cleaned for some ridiculous reason. Why would the government choose to pardon them?"

Robin commented, "Damned shady government officials. Always manipulating things for their way. Regardless of what they're going to do, they don't deserve redemption. Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth have stolen so much and destroyed a lot, they should be behind bars or frozen like the Brotherhood. I still don't fucking understand why Gizmo and Mammoth were released along with Rancid, Mumbo, and Control Freak.

"And Raven, she executed Dr. Light, who was the only one that could tell us who has been upgrading these criminals. She must be taken down."

Starfire inquired, "Does Operation Exorcist even exist?"

Robin thought, _And she finally asks if I have contingencies. Won't be long before she realizes that I have plans against all four of them._

Robin finally answered, "It does, Starfire. As much as I hate to admit it, Raven was right about that. I don't know how she found out, though. I had her sever the bond before I began designing Exorcist."

Beast Boy questioned, "So was what Raven said about Exorcist correct?"

Robin replied, "Yes. Six months ago, I designed the plans for Operation Exorcist. I got the cage and then contacted the League to see who would ward it.

"And yes, Zatanna warded them. I don't know why, though, but she was more than willing to. Not to mention being the only one willing. Doctor Fate refused to do it."

Beast Boy commented, "Guess magic-users don't want to create prisons for magic users, even demonlings that have sadistic urges."

Starfire noted, "Maybe Zatanna could help us locate where Raven has vanished to. We cannot let her get too far."

Robin lamented, "Raven teleported away using her soul-self. I can't track teleportation, neither can Zatanna. Her communicator was left behind in the Tower when she came on Cyborg's stupid request."

Beast Boy noted, "Hope she doesn't wind up on Slade's side."

* * *

Meanwhile, also in Titans Tower, Cyborg was currently manning the computer, hoping to find whoever supplied Mumbo, Johnny Rancid, Control Freak, and Dr. Light as well as enhanced the White Monster and Plasmus.

Cyborg thought, _Maybe interrogating Light wouldn't have done a damn thing. We already interrogated Mumbo, Rancid, and Control Freak. None of them had any useful information, just that they were shipped parts by an anonymous benefactor. Whoever this guy is, he is brilliant for sure._

Thus far, Cyborg had tried to track the shipping information back to the benefactor, but he discovered that the benefactor was definitely brilliant, knowing how Cyborg could track the shipments, hiring random individuals to ship the upgrades from random post offices across the city. This was definitely too random to suggest the guy was dumb. If they were all shipped from the same place, then a pattern would be surmised.

Still, Cyborg was hoping there was some pattern in this man's madness, hoping that there was some clue to see where he was headed next, if he was planning on giving enhancements to other relatively low-level villains. And if destroying the Titans were his goal, then his job just became ten times easier upon Raven's departure from the Titans, which was national news for days.

Lisa came into the living room, watching as Cyborg was trying to pin the pieces together of the recent villain attacks in the city.

Cyborg asked, "Hey, Lisa?"

Lisa countered, "What do you need, Cy?"

Cyborg responded, "A second set of eyes. I'm trying to figure out who could have been responsible for all of this. Someone who could dabble in both science and magic."

"Not a whole lot of people. Have to be methodical, willing to wait. Only guy that I can think of is Slade."

Cyborg slapped his head in frustration, coming to a realization. He cried out, "Of course! Slade is a technical genius! He created all of those goddamn robots and the nanoscopic probes and the nanobots in the suit he used to control Terra. He knows about dark magic. He summoned a fire demon and he worked for Trigon. It all makes sense! Slade's the only person that could have done this."

"Now we have to find him. Like that will be easy. He only shows up when he chooses to show up. How the hell does he do that? Nobody should be that good."

"Because he always pulls his punches. He may be Slade, but he used to go by Deathstroke. What do you know about him?"

"That he is nothing short of a monster. He can make a man suffer so much it is like they have died fifty times, and makes people want to have died. I am honestly glad he hasn't been that cruel. He is a cold-blooded killer."

"Now we just have to prove it was Slade. We need to find evidence, and that is going to be harder than making a conjecture. No matter how much it seems easy to pin another crime on the bastard. Looks like Robin's mad-dog hatred of Raven is about to be overshadowed by his animosity and desire to take down Slade."

"How is Robin like when Slade is on the loose?" When Cyborg gave a discouraging face, Lisa continued, "I take it that it ain't good."

"So how about we keep this a secret until we can prove it? Don't want Robin to be going nuts over a faulty direction."

"No matter how much of a dickhead he is." When Cyborg gave her a fairly scornful look, she continued, "Well, he is."

* * *

Over in Steel City, life also continued on for the Titans East. In his room, Speedy was working on his arrows - he needed to create his arrows for battle, seeing how most (if not all) stores did not sell the arrows Speedy used in battle, especially the trick arrows.

Speedy was still thinking about his conversation with Aqualad a few nights prior. _Are we going to break up? If we do, who is going to fill in the gaps. With the Titans, it was Lisa. Here, we never had a sixth member, except for Cyborg, who was helping us get on our feet. All the other Titans are content where they are._

Speedy was soon interrupted by a knocking on the door. Speedy quickly grabbed his bow and pulled out one of his completed arrows before aiming it. Speedy questioned, "Who is it?"

He was met with, "Let me in, Roy. And drop the bow and arrow." With that, Speedy set down the bow and arrow and walked up to the door to see Bumblebee at the door.

Speedy greeted, "Karen, what are you doing here?"

Bumblebee replied, "Needed to check in. Whatcha doing?"

"Working on my arrows. I'm running a little low on my basic arrows and some of the trick ones as well."

Bumblebee walked in and saw Speedy's arrow workshop. "Okay, but something seems off."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't seem to be making them as fast as you normally do."

"Have you been watching me?"

"Something just tells me that you've slowed down. You should have had another ten arrows done by now. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing, Karen."

"I call bullshit, Roy. I know when something is on your mind. I can just feel it. What is it?"

"I guess it's about Raven's sudden departure. It's gotten me thinking about what if we suddenly begin to divide. What's going to happen then?"

"I honestly can't tell you. The Titans were fortunate to have another member on hand to patch up the spot left by Raven. We don't have one. I guess, the best we can hope for is not dividing."

"Maybe, but sooner or later, we are going to face that decision. I'm absolutely sure of it."

"But let's not fret on it until it actually comes."

"See ya later, Karen."

As Bumblebee walked out the door, she muttered to herself, "What will happen when it comes?"

* * *

Over at Fort Pell, the four new recruits of the Perseus Initiative were awaiting the results of their physicals, sitting patiently in the waiting room for Doctor Whitaker to go over the results.

Jinx asked, "So how did the physicals go?"

Gizmo replied, "I guess it went okay, especially with me being this size", as he pointed out his small size.

Raven noted, "Sort of explains why you changed your name to Mikron O'Jeneus. Who changes their name to Mikron? What kind of name is that?"

Gizmo answered, "It's based on the word micron, which is equivalent to ten to the negative sixth power. Like in micrometre."

Mammoth commented, "Makes sense. I think the doc's coming."

Dr. Whitaker soon arrived in the waiting room. Jinx thought, _This is it. Our fates are revealed._

The doctor arrived with an unknown man besides him. This man was obviously military, with his combat fatigues, sidearm on his belt, and beret. He looked to be at least forty years old with hints of gray hair along his black-haired scalp. His face was entirely clean-shaven as his now cold blue eyes stared at the four of them. Doctor Whitaker said, "Okay, I have finished with your physical evaluations. You all have passed, some with flying colors. I'll let him explain the rest."

The doctor walked away, leaving the military man with Jinx, Raven, Gizmo, and Mammoth. He shouted, "Rise", without any emotion being expressed on his face, as if he was incredibly pissed off. Not even Raven would wish to trifle with him.

The four proceeded to stand up, waiting to hear what he had to say. He continued, "I am Lieutenant Mark Hollingsworth, your new commanding officer. The four of you will begin training tomorrow at 0600 hours at Basinger Hall. Do not be late, or you will be disciplined severely. I expect the most out of you four.

"Dismissed."

With that, Lt. Hollingsworth walked away from the four of them. Raven deadpanned, "He seems charming."

* * *

The next day soon arrived, and the four of them soon began training. Gizmo, Jinx, Mammoth, and Raven were awaiting Lt. Hollingsworth to arrive, just standing in the gym in Basinger Hall.

Hollingsworth arrived and barked, "Okay, recruits. For now on, when you are in training or briefing, when you encounter a superior officer, that stance will not do."

Raven inquired, "Then what stance will work, Lieutenant?"

Another man soon came into the room, emerging right next to Lt. Hollingsworth, looking at his newest trainees. This man had a short crew cut as he emerged in his green combat fatigues, his face completely devoid of emotion. Raven easily tasted the honey and tin of fear and concern.

The lieutenant introduced, "I would like you to meet Staff Sergeant Baker. He will be responsible for your strategic and courtesial training. Baker, you may begin."

Hollingsworth proceeded to walk away from the group of five as Baker began to speak in a neutral tone. "Okay then, here is the first thing you need to know. Stance. Unless you are told otherwise by a superior officer, you will follow this stance. If you hear attention, you will enter this stance."

He proceeded to demonstrate what he was talking about, as he proceeded to move his feet out so they were roughly one foot apart. His hands were behind his back, holding each other as his posture was straight.

"Do you understand what I have just told you? If you are asked a question, you are to respond. You are not to talk unless spoken to. Understand?"

The four responded, "Yes, staff sergeant."

"For now on, when you address a superior officer, it will be as sir, regardless of rank. Whether they be warrant officers, majors, hell even the President, you will address them as sir unless they say otherwise."

Raven asked, "And what if they happen to be a female?"

"Then you will call them madam or ma'am, if that is what she would like to be called. Do I make myself clear?"

The four responded in unison, "Yes, sir."

"Now, we can begin your training. We'll begin with your intellectual training. This is as important as your physical training will be, so pay attention. This may save your life someday, if you manage to get into the field.

_He doubts us, he'll be sorry that he doubted us. We will get through Perseus training._

"Please follow me to the lecture hall."

With that, the four of them followed SSgt. Baker to the lecture hall, awaiting the lesson that he intended to teach them.

* * *

It has now been roughly two weeks since Raven departed from the Teen Titans (now known simply as the Titans), and things were going well with training for the Perseus Initiative at Fort Pell.

Their training for the first week was largely in military formalities such as the NATO phonetics (which Mammoth wasn't performing excellently in, unlike the other three), stance and other military manners, and strategizing (which Jinx was given more emphasis on seeing as she was the team leader). According to Hollingsworth, _'knowing is half the battle'_.

Most of the recent training has been more physical, testing their strength and abilities, as well as conditioning them in hand-to-hand combat. After this, it was weapon and specialty training for the others. Raven and Jinx were expecting currently additional training in magic to enhance their abilities while Gizmo was expecting additional training in computer hacking and mechanics, whilst Mammoth was likely going to get more weaponry training.

The team had recently finished close combat training with Sergeant Miyagi, one that soon was causing some significant changes to some of them.

Miyagi was testing their skills in non-power hand-to-hand combat (hoping to make a point and not be turned to ash in the process).

First he tested Gizmo, the smallest of them, managing to grab a hold of him despite the tiny techy's quick movements. Miyagi commented, "Not a whole lot to work with. You are going to need some technological help. Do you know the R & D lab?"

Gizmo responded, "Research and Development. Where Perseus makes their tech. I do, and I've been there evaluating my designs and gadgets for a little bit. Trying to refine them."

Miyagi said, "Return to the attention with the others. Next up, Miss Dasgupta."

As Gizmo walked back to where Mammoth and Raven currently stood and waited, Jinx walked up to Sergeant Miyagi, readying herself for hand-to-hand combat.

Miyagi swung a punch at Jinx, who blocked it before delivering a kick that sent Miyagi to the grass-filled ground. Jinx ran up to Miyagi for another blow, but Miyagi got back up and punched Jinx in the stomach before violently grabbing her by her hair (one of her pink horns), lifting her up over the ground.

Jinx tried to attack Miyagi, but he either blocked her attacks or let them pass as they were out of range for her to impact him. Miyagi told her, "Your hair style may have worked while you were fighting in the streets, but out here, it is a terrible idea. Makes you an easy target for someone to grab you and give you no mercy. I suggest you visit the barbershop and get a haircut more sufficient for this type of combat.

"Roth, your turn", he said as he dropped Jinx onto the ground. Jinx soon got up and walked over to where Gizmo and Mammoth were in attention stance as Raven made her way over towards Sgt. Miyagi.

Before starting, Raven asked, "Do you wish me to hold back?"

Miyagi responded, "No. Come at me with all you have."

"Are you sure? I may end up killing you, which wouldn't be good."

"As long as you are not using your magic, throw away."

"If you want to avoid my magic, I'd suggest you avoid my hair."

With that, Raven readied herself for combat with Sgt. Miyagi. He threw the first punch but Raven swiftly dodged it as she sent a spinning sidekick that sent Miyagi back.

Raven charged at Miyagi, who swung another punch that was blocked by Raven. She sent her hand at Miyagi, intending to (superficially) claw him, but he backed away and caught her hand, pushing it back towards her, fingernails pointed at Raven herself. This never got that far as Raven scratched Miyagi on the arm pushing towards Raven, forcing him to let go and tend to his wounded arm.

Miyagi went after Raven again, jumping over her to grab her hair, aiming to yank Raven onto the ground. This attack did not work as he was hoping and found his hand got burned.

Miyagi backed away from Raven, asking her, "What is the deal with your hair?"

Raven responded, "When touched by an attacker, it causes the area touching it to be burned. That's why I told you to avoid my hair."

"And your claws?"

"My fingernails. Dark as coal but tough as diamond. I'd say they are almost unbreakable and even if you got them into me, it wouldn't do any effective damage. Do you want me to heal your hand and arm?"

"Since you brought it on."

Raven hovered over to Miyagi and encased his arm with a blue healing glow, patching it up within mere moments. She did the same thing with his hand, treating the heavy burn.

"Is that good, sir?"

"Much better, now. Flinders, you're up."

Raven walked back to where Gizmo and Jinx were standing as Mammoth walked over towards Miyagi, readying himself for combat.

Miyagi watched as Mammoth charged at him, sending a furious punch Miyagi's way. The instructor ducked beneath the punch before swinging himself onto the brute via Mammoth's arm. He grasped onto Mammoth's hair, jerking on it and causing Mammoth to walk around in random directions. Miyagi soon jumped down behind Mammoth before grabbing his leg, pushing him down.

Miyagi noted, "Much like with Miss Dasgupta, your hair is going to be a problem. And you've got quite a few blind spots. Return to the others."

Mammoth said, "Yes, sir."

Mammoth got up and returned to the others, with Raven tasting the water of his submission. Upon arriving back with the others, still in attention position, Miyagi said, "Okay, you guys have things to improve upon, some more than others. Report back here at 1500 hours tomorrow. Understand?"

The four said, "Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

* * *

Once dismissed from their close-combat session with Sergeant Miyagi, Jinx and Mammoth decided to get haircuts as per his recommendation. As much as they wanted to keep their hairstyles intact, they would much rather change them than die.

Raven went with Jinx to the barbershop on base while Gizmo was busy working on his equipment and gadgets over at the research and development labs.

Mammoth soon entered the barbershop while Raven and Jinx were outside.

Raven asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? Do you want to change who you are?"

Jinx countered, "Are you sure you'd love me even if I do this?"

Raven brought her hand up to Jinx's face, saying, "I'd love you no matter what you do to your appearance."

"Then you can understand my decision. Are you getting your hair cut?"

"No. As you saw with Miyagi, it proves to be a weapon against attackers, and my hair now regrows very rapidly. Cutting it wouldn't do a thing. You don't have to do this. I'll be there to protect you, keep you safe. They'll never lay a finger on you if I have anything to say about it."

"But what if we are separated? What if they do try to get to me and you can't be there?"

"Then we hope your hexes can keep them off of you. I'll be damned if I lose you."

"Technically, you're damned if you keep me. Remember, you're..."

"I know", Raven interrupted Jinx before she could finish.

Jinx and Mammoth soon walked into the barbershop while Raven waited for them. There was something on her shoulders that she needed to get out, something that is concerning her.

Just before her lover's haircut was finished, she noticed that Lt. Hollingsworth was headed her way. She quickly got into attention position as he came her way.

Hollingsworth noticed her and asked, "What are you doing outside of the barbershop, Roth?"

Raven answered, "I am waiting for my teammates to be finished with their haircuts. And sir, please call me Raven. Roth is just a pseudonym, an impersonal one at that."

He said, "Okay then."

Soon after, Jinx and Mammoth left the barbershop as Hollingsworth began to walk away. Jinx had her horns cut off, leaving a thick pixie cut in its place. Raven thought, _Could have been worse. Just have to clean it up and she'll be good._ Mammoth's long reddish locks were cut off, leaving a thin crew cut in its place.

Jinx asked, "So how does it look?"

Raven responded, "It looks beautiful, darling."

Hollingsworth turned around to notice Jinx now holding Raven's hand as they walked back to their quarters from the barbershop. Raven soon noticed their commanding officer was watching them - the feta cheese of disgust was roaring through her mouth.

* * *

Back at their quarters, Jinx and Raven were talking with Gizmo and Mammoth (who resided in one on the next floor).

Gizmo inquired, "So, Raven, how are things going since you dumped those kludgeheads two weeks ago?"

Raven answered, "I think it's going well. Though it could be better, seeing as our commanding officer is a homophobe."

Mammoth said, "He's prejudiced against you two. You sensed it?"

Jinx interjected, "She did and she told me. Anything wrong, Rae?"

Raven responded, "I'm just thinking about Victor and Lisa. Maybe I should send them an e-mail, tell them that I'm alive and doing just fine."

Gizmo deadpanned, "Sure and let's lead the Titans right back here for some milk and cookies. The other Titans want our heads on a silver platter, and I'm sure they won't care about the pardons to do it. We can't compromise the base to send an e-mail to them. I know their security measures - they will trace any e-mail back to its source that is received at the Tower."

Jinx added, "Maybe we won't send it here."

* * *

Over at Titans Tower, Robin was on the computer, doing a sweep of the city through the traffic cameras. Beast Boy was recovering from his injuries, though a few more weeks were required until he was back to full strength. Cyborg and Lisa were out patrolling in the city, doing a good job against the criminals that dared attack during the Titans' temporary moment of weakness.

However, he soon got an e-mail alert - that somebody just sent an e-mail with priority keywords. Robin opened the e-mail and saw what it read:

_Victor and Lisa,_

_I figured I would check in and tell you that I am still alive, as are Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth. As you probably have heard, we're now officially on our new path, and they are no longer criminals. I hope things are working out at the Tower._

_-Raven_

Robin, realizing that they (them being Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy) had a prime chance of getting Raven, immediately rushed into the medical bay where Beast Boy was. Robin soon called in Starfire and she appeared there as well.

Beast Boy asked, "What is it dude? What's so important?"

Robin replied, "Raven just sent an e-mail to Cyborg. I've just got the results back on the trace. Pack your bags, you two need to go to Ottowa, Canada. I bet that Raven is still there. And we can't allow her to get away. Covert mission, you two. Tell me what you find. Call me the second you find Raven. Got it?"

Beast Boy replied, "Got it."

Starfire responded, "I have gotten the it."

* * *

Back at the base in Fort Pell, Raven's soul-self landed back in the base, her mission having been successful. Raven inquired, "So, was there a trace?"

Gizmo answered, "Yes. They traced it to the terminal in Ottowa. Robin's probably going to send someone to investigate it."

Raven added, "I'm sure of it. Now, how do we communicate with Lisa and Cyborg without raising alarms?"

* * *

**Okay folks, these aren't the only references to _Consequence of Misunderstandings_. There are to be plenty more coming throughout the rest of the story. Up next: Lisa begins communicating with Raven, Slade resurfaces underground, and a Thanksgiving with "the kids". We'll also be seeing more of Aqualad and Speedy soon - their part in the _collapse_ won't come until I'd say around two years before the events of _Consequence._**

**storytell18 out.**


	3. Chapter 3: Return of Friend and Foe

**Chapter 3  
Return of Friend and Foe**

**discb:** Robin is definitely trigger-happy and not in a good way. He is so insistent that Raven betrayed the team that he is going to fragment the team, especially with the Titans East (that will occur later on). Starfire is also this, and it isn't going to tone down (just look at chapters 6 & 7 in _Consequence of Misunderstandings_). Beast Boy, he'll probably tone down a bit, but not for a while.

**The Sinful:** To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about military etiquette, like who you say by rank and by who you say sir/ma'am. For the sake of the story, let's assume that Perseus trainees have to address everybody by "sir" or "ma'am".

**Disclaimer:** Were many of the villains that joined the Brotherhood of Evil who previously had spoken remain generally silent during the attack on the Titans? If so, I don't own the Teen Titans franchise; it belongs to DC Entertainment, Glen Murakami, and Warner Bros., nor do I own the _Misunderstandings_ story, which belongs to SilentlyWatches.

* * *

It's been about two days since Robin sent Beast Boy and Starfire up to Ottowa to capture Raven after tracking an e-mail that she had sent to Cyborg. However, Raven and the others had anticipated that move, hence her usage of a public Canadian terminal rather than the one at Fort Pell where she was staying.

Robin was currently speaking with the two of them on the television in the living room, hoping for a status update on if they have located Raven. He thought, _It's been two days. They should have found her by now._

Robin asked, "Status report."

Beast Boy responded from their small Titan safehouse outside of Ottowa, _"Raven's nowhere in the city. I don't think she's staying in Canada with Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth."_

Starfire added, _"We have searched all of Ottowa. None of them could be found. Why then did the computer trace the e-mail back here?"_

Beast Boy answered, _"Because the sent the e-mail from here. I found the terminal Raven used to send the e-mail. The woman in charge said she saw a woman matching Raven's description sending an e-mail from the terminal. However, she never recalled seeing Raven enter or exit the building."_

Robin realized, "Her soul-self. That's how she got in and out. Explains why we haven't found her. Raven's not in Canada. And with her teleportation, we can't track her movements. I've already got a bug on her Titans e-mail account, but I doubt it will get any results. By now, she's stopped using the account. She's going to have to talk with Lisa or Cy eventually, so we need to find her new e-mail address if we are to find her."

Beast Boy commented, _"But how? I'd bet that Raven doesn't send the e-mail to the Tower. She's smarter than that. She'd know we trace it back to where she's really hiding. If she's in one location at all. You think we should just leave her alone? I mean, not only did she hand us our asses a few weeks ago, but now she's got Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth on her side. We won't stand a chance against them."_

Starfire interjected, _"We will not let Traitor Raven escape. She must be brought to justice no matter what. We must do the screwing of the pardons Master Batman told us about. Raven will not get away from this, this I promise to all X'Hal and her glory!"_

Robin thought, _Star's definitely got the attitude. God only knows what she's willing to do to catch the treacherous bitch. Perhaps that is what we need to catch her, the criminals she is with, and keep Cy and Lisa in line._

Robin ordered, "Okay then, return back here as soon as possible. We're not going to get any results if we continue the search in Canada. I'll tell Cyborg and Lisa that the target vanished. Should give us some time to think of our next move in finding her. Robin out."

Robin cut the power and the screen went dark.

* * *

In Paris, a man walked through the streets of the city, passing by structures such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. However, these structures were not what he was in the city for.

Something else lay _beneath_ the City of Lights that this man desired. Nobody seemed to notice the face of said man as he passed through the city, ignoring the eyepatch that was strapped across his right eye.

The man finally reached what he was looking for. The first guard (out of the two currently guarding the entrance of said place) cried out (in English), "This area is off-limits. Back away."

The man chuckled, "I am going in there, and you are not going to stop me."

The other guard pulled out a nine-millimeter handgun and aimed it at said man, ordering, "Hands in the air and knees on the ground. Now! Do it or I will shoot!"

The first guard pulled out his sidearm and aimed it at the man, who calmly stood there, unthreatened by the two guards and their weapons.

All of a sudden, the man pounced on the first guard, breaking his neck with one clean twist. He grabbed the guard's sidearm and used it to shoot the other guard dead with a couple of bullets.

The man thought, _That was too easy. Now, on with the plan._

He walked through the entrance, strolling through like it was a walk in the park. After a couple hundred yards, he reached the elevator that would bring him down to his destination. Pressing the bottom floor button on the elevator, the dual doors closed and he went down the elevator shaft to his intended destination.

Finally arriving on the bottom floor, the man walked out and saw what he was looking for. _The Brotherhood of Evil base_. Dozens of villains that had tried to defeat and capture the Titans once and for all were cryogenically frozen, awaiting trial. Some of the villains, like Mumbo, Johnny Rancid, and Control Freak had already escaped from their icy prisons and had been armed by Slade only to be defeated by Raven. About a third of the villains imprisoned had since gained freedom - including Gizmo and Mammoth, the earlier three said, Plasmus, Mad Mod, Andre LeBlanc, and Trident. About half of the villains that tried to capture the Titans were still cryogenically frozen while some villains had managed to escape (having avoided being cryogenically frozen), such as Cheshire, the Puppet King, and Kitten.

The core Brotherhood of Evil - the Brain, Monsieur Mallah, Madame Rouge, General Immortus, Psimon, and Phobia - were currently kept in a much harsher cryogenic environment, one that the man could not hope to crack at this moment in time. However, they were not his objective. One prisoner, cryogenically frozen, was who this man wanted.

One of the former HIVE students, he was part of the clump of students that got beaten by Jinx. And he was still cryogenically frozen, which made locating him infinitely easier.

However, before he could get too far, he was faced with two more guards armed with handguns. The man had no difficulty subduing them both, catapulting himself behind one guard, grabbing the handgun in said guard's hand and scored one headshot against the other guard, killing him before shooting the guard in his grip in the head.

With the guards down, the man could proceed with his goal of freeing the HIVE student he wanted. He passed by many frozen villains - Killer Moth, Atlas, Katarou, Private HIVE, Professor Chang, Overload, Master of Games, Malchior, Punk Rocket, and Ding Dong Daddy amongst them.

Finally, he reached the one he wanted. The one he intended to free to serve his bidding. He went up to the control console in order to activate the de-freezing code for the one he wanted.

He pressed the button and the frozen enemy was soon released from his container. Having been imprisoned for months as a human icicle, he fell down on the floor, almost unconscious.

The man ran up to his target and gave him a sedative that temporarily knocked him out. The man said, "There, Kyd Wykkyd. This is only the beginning. I'll explain more when you come to."

* * *

At Fort Pell, the group of four (comprised of two former criminals, one ex-Titan, and one criminal-turned-Titan-turned-thief (again)) were about to meet with their commanding officer, Lt. Hollingsworth. Already Raven could taste the mushrooms of depression and the feta cheese of disgust. They were concerned with what he was going to say - they had already learned of his homophobia and that he had some _issues_ with metahumans.

Raven thought, _Why is he our commanding officer then if he hates metahumans? Why is he even part of the Perseus Initiative?_

They walked into Hollingsworth's office on base where he was currently seated at his desk. Hollingsworth demanded, "Sit down."

First to enter was Mammoth, wearing a light green sleeveless shirt and green camoflauge pants, taking a seat on the left near the wall to Hollingsworth's eye. Second to enter was Gizmo, wearing a small long-sleeved black shirt and pants, who took the seat right next to Mammoth. Jinx followed her HIVE co-patriots as the third one to enter, wearing a tan long-sleeved shirt and desert camoflauge pants (with matching underwear). She took her seat next to Gizmo. Raven was the last one to enter, following her girlfriend, clad in a white sleeveless shirt and black pants (plus matching underwear).

Jinx asked, "So why did you call us in here, sir?"

Hollingsworth answered, "All of you, you have passed your physical and are almost complete with your abbreviated training regimen. Now, you are going to have your basic evaluation followed by your specialist training. Your training will be assigned after your basic, if you complete it."

Raven tasted the milk of her teammates' relief and inquired, "When is our basic?"

Hollingsworth replied, "The Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Speaking of, Colonel Ruiz informed me that you are cleared to leave the base for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you do leave, your movements will be monitored with intense scrutiny. If any one of you is caught committing espionage or treason, there will be severe consequences. If you are not on base on the day after Thanksgiving, there will be severe consequences. Understood, recruits?"

The four of them nodded, "Understood, sir."

"Dismissed."

Raven got up first and walked out of Hollingsworth's office. She was soon followed by her girlfriend, Jinx. Gizmo soon joined the two in leaving the office, followed lastly by Mammoth.

* * *

Back at their quarters, the four of them were talking about their Thanksgiving plans.

Jinx asked them, "Apparently we have Thanksgiving off. Anybody know where they're headed? Cause I sure as hell don't."

Gizmo said, "Don't have any family left. Probably just gonna stay on base."

Mammoth added, "I have a sister, Selinda. Don't know if I'll make it in time to see her."

After tasting the mustard of confusion from Gizmo, Jinx, and herself, Raven asked, "You have a sister? Why didn't you tell us?"

Mammoth replied, "You never asked. We never got along that well. I barely got a chance to know her. Haven't seen her in over a decade. Last I heard, she was in Zandia." Raven shuddered at Mammoth's reference to Zandia - that happened to be the birthplace of the Church of Blood - the cultists that worshipped her father, Trigon. Raven vowed to never go to Zandia if she had the choice. Something told her that she would have to go there eventually.

Raven noted, "I was thinking about going up to see my kids."

Gizmo asked, "You have kids?" Sensing mustard from Gizmo's confusion, Raven elaborated, "Not my biological kids. I escorted them to a monastery during the Brotherhood of Evil situation a couple of months ago. Now, they're Honorary Titans."

Jinx commented, "Oh yeah, Melvin, Timmy Tantrum, and Teether. They managed to find their way into her heart despite some initial coldness between them."

Raven added, "I didn't really know why Richard picked me for that assignment, probably because the others were busy, but at the time I thought, me and kids, not a very pretty combination. Somehow, the whole thing worked out. I got them to the monastery alive and they helped me keep them safe from Monsieur Mallah."

Jinx said, "Ya know, maybe I should go with you. Strike that, I am going with you. Let's visit them for Thanksgiving. I bet they need some explanations of what the fuck happened between you and the Titans."

"I doubt they will say it like that, but an explanation probably would be necessary for explaining why I am not a Titan, and if you - and you probably will - come, why we are dating."

Gizmo inquired, "You think we could tag along with you for Thanksgiving?"

Raven answered, "It probably would be for the best. I do wonder how they'll take to you. I definitely would not piss of any of them if I were you."

Mammoth commented, "Duly noted."

* * *

Over in Steel City, the Titans East were still working, getting ready for Thanksgiving. Mas y Menos were going to stay with their teammates for the holiday, even though they were from Guatemala (and did not celebrate the holiday normally), as was Aqualad, who ordinarily did not celebrate the holiday as he was from Atlantis.

Aqualad thought, _If I were to go back home for the holidays, I'd be a bit of a pariah. Plus I probably don't want to be with Orin. Last time we met, it was not pretty. Not up to rejoining him. Bet it's the same with Roy, who doesn't want to go with Oliver for Thanksgiving._

He was currently in the pool that was built along with the Tower a bit over two years earlier. This pool was designed to allow Aqualad to gain a better hold over his hydrokinesis and keep his physique up.

Before he could finish his routine, the klaxon alarm rang out. He quickly got out of the pool and dried off. Bumblebee announced, "It's Trident. Attacking the waste disposal plant downtown."

Aqualad got into the elevator and brought himself up to the launch area where the Titans East typically went off for missions. Mas y Menos typically used their super-speed to quickly zip over to the scene (which generally took a minute or less) while Bumblebee used her wings to take herself over to the situation and Aqualad used his hydrokinetic powers to propel himself over towards where he needs to go.

Speedy, on the other hand, was just as human as Robin, so he couldn't zip over to the scene by super-speed like the tiny twins, flying over there like the leader, and he also lacked a mode of transportation he could call his own. As a result, Speedy frequently went to the scene with Aqualad - furthering their partnership while at points straining it because of his over-reliance on him.

Speedy had considered getting his own mode of transportation, but he had yet to find one that was successful for him. _Bikes were too slow for him, he couldn't stay on a motorcycle, and he cannot afford a car - the insurance premiums would be through the damn roof. And the ship is impractical for what we are doing, especially around the city. Maybe if it were across the country, or on another planet, it may work, but not across the city._

Aqualad hoped that Speedy would find his own mode of getting himself around to situations, but he was beginning to have his doubts after two years of working with him. _Just another thing that threatens to splinter us apart._

Just like all the other frequent times, Speedy rode with Aqualad to the scene, to where Trident resurfaced after escaping from cryogenic custody in the Brotherhood of Evil's base in Paris.

After a couple of minutes, the Titans East arrived and saw what Trident was doing - taking the containers of chemical wastes on a small barge that would likely be headed to where Trident has now set up shop. If Trident were to get away with the wastes, he could use it to create multiple versions of himself. This was something the Titans East _really_ did not want, as he could be nigh-unstoppable with an army of himself.

Once they arrived, they were met with Trident who yelled, "You think you can defeat me. I am perfection! I am victory! I AM TRIDENT!"

He proceeded to fire his trident at the five Titans. Aqualad yelled out, "He's never done that before! He must have gotten an upgrade!"

Speedy asked, "You think he's gotten an upgrade like the villains down in Jump?"

Bumblebee responded, "Maybe, but he won't get a chance to do it again! Mas, Menos, obtener el desecho de él."

Mas y Menos said, "Mas y Menos, si podemos."

With that, the two super-speeders went after Trident's ill-gotten chemical wastes. They boarded the barge that contained the wastes, soon proceeding to kick the containers of them back onto the platform where the containers had been originally been stored.

The containers soon rolled well past Trident as he began engaging the three other Titans. As Speedy attempted to shoot Trident's namesake weapon out of Trident's hands, Bumblebee and Aqualad worked on attacking Trident himself. Aqualad splashed water onto him as Bumblebee fired her stinger tasers at him, hoping to electrocute him. It wouldn't kill him, but they were hoping it would slow him down enough for them to take him down.

This was working much more in theory than it was in actuality. Trident's weapon was seriously upgraded - it was firing all sorts of beams, from freezing to heat to magnetic to explosive to stun. The Titans East were being hammered by Trident, forced behind cover, even Mas y Menos, hiding behind Trident's stolen waste containers. Fortunately for the duo, if Trident fired at them, he risked destroying the waste he needed to take. Even so, Mas y Menos could not risk moving from cover or they would be taken out.

Against the other Titans, Trident was far more successful - he froze the water Aqualad threw at him far before it could hit him, destroying Speedy's arrows before they could get close, and forced Bumblebee away else she got stunned or attracted to his pointed trident.

If the Titans couldn't find some way to stop Trident, they failed and things were about to get a lot worse than they were.

Bumblebee shouted, "Mas y Menos, tomar el tridente."

The two sped up around Trident, sneaking up behind him and quickly grabbing the trident, trying to force it out of his hands, but his grip was much stronger than theirs, resulting in a very intense fight that ended with Trident kicking away Mas before grabbing Menos and throwing him out into the ocean. Aqualad yelled out, "Menos, I'm coming."

With that, Aqualad jumped into the water, chasing after Menos before he drowned - a dead Titan would not be useful, nor would it be well-taken. However, as Aqualad swam towards Menos, Trident fired the trident towards Aqualad, attempting to encase him in ice before turning his attention back to Bumblebee and Speedy.

Bumblebee fired her stingers at Trident, but he was able to elude them. Speedy got an idea and proceeded to fire his arrows a lot lower than normally, impacting near Trident's feet. As he was forced to dodge the arrows trying to hurt him, Bumblebee fired her stingers at his back, managing to inflict some damage upon him before Trident was able to fire a stun blast at Bumblebee that knocked her down for the moment.

Aqualad caught Menos soon after before bringing him back to the shore. _This fight could not be going much worse right about now. We need a miracle if we are to stop him._

Aqualad quickly sent off some water towards Trident attempting to take away the trident, but Trident responded with a heat blast that forced him back.

Speedy meanwhile soon had an idea that could disarm Trident. He aimed the bow nowhere near Trident, intending to bounce it onto Trident's trident to break it and fired the arrow (which just so happened to be a bouncy trick arrow). It first impacted a nearby mirror, followed by bouncing across the corners of the room, Trident still browsing for the arrow, confused as to what Speedy did.

As the arrow bounced past the second corner, Aqualad got up onto the platform, readying for a final strike against Trident. However, as the arrow soon moved back closer towards Speedy and Aqualad, Speedy moved out of the way before yelling to Aqualad, "DUCK!"

Upon noticing the arrow, Aqualad ducked onto the ground as the arrow moved near Trident. He got his trident ready to destroy the arrow as he did with the others. Trident yelled out, "You think you can stop me, I am perfection. I am in..."

Unfortunately for Trident, he was aiming a bit too low with his trident as the arrow connected with him, cutting him off.

And Speedy and Aqualad watched as the arrow impaled Trident in the head. The shock caused Trident to drop his trident onto the ground, breaking it upon impact as Trident's corpse fell onto the ground.

Speedy went up to Trident's corpse, seeing what his arrow did. Aqualad got up and followed Speedy up to where the archer now stood. Aqualad silently muttered, "Holy shit. Do you know what you just did, Roy?"

Speedy responded, "I had no idea it would hit him in the head. All of the other times it hit right where it wanted to. How? How did it miss? How did it kill him? It's only blunted. It shouldn't have gone that deep. I'm fucked, aren't I, Garth?"

"I'd assume so. Involuntary manslaughter charge is possible. Bumblebee's going to be pissed. You're gonna have a lot to answer for."

"I know. If Karen doesn't know yet, she sure as hell knows now."

Bumblebee soon got up, the effects of Trident's stun finally wearing off, and went up to Speedy and Aqualad, followed by Mas y Menos.

Upon seeing Trident's body, Bumblebee noted, "Sparky's gonna have a field day when he hears about this. We can't cover this up. No way."

Speedy responded, "It was a damn accident! I was aiming at his trident, I did not expect my arrow to hit him in the head!"

Bumblebee simply urged, "Let's get back to the Tower."

She angrily stormed away from the other members of her team before flying off away from the chemical waste disposal plant.

* * *

It was now Thanksgiving, though not all was peaceful within all of the Titans - present and former members. Titans East was currently under investigation from the Justice League after Speedy accidentally killed Trident, which certainly put quite a bit of stress on Robin. Not to mention that somebody had broken into the Brotherhood of Evil base, which he had designed the guard protocol, and abducted Kyd Wykkyd. Plus he had to deal with one of his own "betraying" the team, killing Dr. Light before injuring himself, Beast Boy, and Starfire. Locating Raven has been thus far unsuccessful for him.

Cyborg and Lisa were uninformed about Raven's e-mail (largely because Robin was hoping that they would stay out of contact with her and to keep them from interfering with his hunt for her). The tensions between Cyborg and Lisa and Robin, Beast Boy, and Starfire continued to remain overwhelming. Nobody could act as a sufficient mediator and none would abstain their position. It was going to take a while before they could function as a team again - now it was essentially two separate squads.

Meanwhile, things couldn't be going much better for Raven and Jinx. Now, they were off to have Thanksgiving at the monastery with Melvin, Timmy Tantrum, and Teether. Accompanying them were Gizmo and Mammoth, who really had nowhere to go for the holiday (which the four of them had off).

Raven enveloped them in her soul-self and dropped them off at the front of the monastery. Raven was wearing the dress that Jinx had given her on All Saint's Day as a birthday gift. Jinx was wearing a black and gold dress, that Raven was unsure of how Jinx got it, but it looked good on her nonetheless. Gizmo was wearing a light green suit much like his old jumpsuit. Mammoth was wearing a black suit that bore some similarities to his old uniform, but was a bit more _classy_.

Raven knocked on the door to the monastery, waiting for the one of the monks to appear to bring the four of them to the Thanksgiving dinner with the kids.

A moment later, the door opened, revealing one of the monks. He said, "Ah, Mademoiselle Raven. You are here for the Thanksgiving dinner?"

Raven replied, "Yes, Father Carmen. I'd like you to meet the other guests I have brought for dinner. Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth." As she named each of her teammates, she pointed at them to fully introduce them.

Father Carmen ushered them in, "Ladies, gentlemen, come in."

With that, the four of them were escorted by Father Carmen over to where the kids were currently seated, awaiting Raven. As Raven arrived in the dining room where some of the other monks were, Raven found herself in a hug with a very familiar face.

Raven greeted, "It's nice to see you again, Melvin."

Melvin responded, "Nice to see you, Raven. It's been a month. Thanks for the shirt." Raven looked to see the glittery pink shirt Melvin was wearing - that Raven had gotten for her for her birthday not that long ago.

Raven said, "I hope we'll be able to meet much more frequently. Are Timmy and Teether here?"

"Yup. Who are your guests?"

"Melvin, I believe you know Jinx."

"Didn't she leave the Titans three months before you did?"

"Yes, and now we're _very_ close to each other." Melvin nodded, acknowleding what Raven was implying - she didn't want to be too overt, seeing as she was in a monastery.

"The ones you may not know are Gizmo and Mammoth."

"Weren't they part of the Brotherhood of Evil?"

"Yes, but now they've gone clean along with Jinx. Now we're teammates, Melvin." Raven hoped to have explained the situation to Melvin as simply as she could - there were some elements that she probably wouldn't want to divulge. And she succeeded in her goal.

"Come, Timmy and Teether are dying to see you."

Raven followed Melvin as she went over to see Timmy and Teether, both wearing gray shirts and white pants. The ex-HIVE members followed Raven.

Gizmo asked, "What exactly can they do?"

Jinx replied, "Melvin can materialize what she imagines. Her favorite one is a giant teddy bear named Bobby. Timmy, or his full name, Timmy Tantrum, has a very loud scream that can shatter an eardrum. Teether can apparently chew anything."

Mammoth inquired, "You see them hands-on?"

Jinx answered, "A little, though most of it is what Raven's told me about them. Much like with her, I'd suggest you avoid angering them."

Gizmo noted, "Duly noted."

Raven sat down at the table, with Jinx soon taking her seat next to Raven on her right and Melvin taking the seat on Raven's left. Gizmo and Mammoth took seats across from Raven and Jinx, sitting next to Timmy and Teether. The other monks at the monastery that would be joining the kids, plus Raven and her guests, filled in the remaining seats.

Before dinner started, Father Carmen asked, "What are you most thankful for?"

Raven started with, "I am most thankful for Jinx, my confidant, my friend, my love."

Jinx said, "I am most thankful for my Raven, my savior, my friend, my love."

Melvin continued on, "I am most thankful for Bobby, my savior and my companion."

Teether spoke in mere babbles, but Raven roughly translated Teether's speech as, "I am most thankful for the security of the monastery and the food they provide." _Though not everything in the monastery is food._

Timmy loudly commented, "I am most thankful for the monks not running away when I talk." _That is especially true - he can be a bit loud, especially in such a place of solitude._

Gizmo said, "I am most thankful for being neutral with the law."

Mammoth finished, "I am most thankful for the faith that my sister is still alive. Amen."

Then, some of the monks began bringing out the Thanksgiving dinner - a large duck plus turkey slices for the kids, red-skin potatoes, cranberry sauce, salad, rolls, applesauce, and a light cream sauce for the duck, plus pumpkin pie for dessert.

Back when Raven was a Titan, Thanksgiving dinner could frequently get hectic - they had to deal with BB complaining for tofu turkey and Starfire trying to make some of her yomisha (a light yellow dish that looked like a nuclear explosion had impacted an apple - and was horrible to the taste buds). In the end, there frequently wound up so much arguing that Raven went back to her room after having just a roll and some tea, and she typically did not stay with them for dinner.

* * *

Lisa retreated back to her house for some peace and quiet after an abhorrent Thanksgiving with the Titans. She couldn't take the arguing from so many disputes. She thought, _Raven definitely was not kidding when she said this would be a nightmare._

After she awoke from her stone prison with no memory of who she was and adopting the name Lisa Jones, she was ultimately given residence at the home of a Franz Walters, who happened to be a teacher at Murakami High School.

When Lisa joined the Titans and had officially moved out, Walters told her that she was welcome back if she was not in any trouble (the Titans had warned him about her past that Lisa no longer could remember). For the most part, Walters was busy with meetings with the city as a liason between the school system and the state government, so the house was almost always empty.

Lisa unlocked the door and walked right up to her room, going over to her laptop that Franz had bought her after she completed her first semester of school. After turning it on, she saw she had a new e-mail in her public account (she also had a Titans account, but that was a bit more private). She checked the e-mail address: darkazarangel at a classified e-mail server and read the e-mail. She was surprised at what it was:

_Dear Lisa,_

_I'm sorry for the delay in response, but it was only now that I got your personal e-mail address. And before you ask, it was Melvin that told me. Things are going well with Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth. I picked this address because then the Titans couldn't trace it back to where I am staying. I take it that the situation is not going well with the Titans - I heard about Speedy's "incident" with Trident. Don't respond to this e-mail at the Tower, use your home computer (if you have one). Eventually, we will see each other. And don't ask what the e-mail site I used is - I cannot tell you, nor will you be able to find it on the Internet. Security reasons I know you understand._

_-Raven_

Lisa smiled upon reading the e-mail. She now knew how to keep in contact with Raven. _Should I tell Victor about my e-mail with Raven?_

She ultimately decided against it, much to her reluctant displeasure, as if she told Cyborg, then Robin would likely find out. And she could not let that spiky-haired bird boy get any closer to finding one of her friends.

* * *

**Okay readers, the first chapter in 2014. Things aren't going to get a whole lot better for the Titans East - they are going to get into a few more situations that begin to start their own dissolution (which Speedy and Aqualad both know is inevitable): a few more Titan villains are going to show up there and face the consequences - at least one enemy is going to be beaten close to death by Speedy as the archer finds himself on a dark path.**

**And yes, Mammoth has a sister - Selinda Flinders, aka Shimmer (from the comic books). She can temporarily change the material of anything she touches. Had the show gotten a sixth season, she would have been a very good character to introduce.**

**storytell18 out.**


	4. Chapter 4: First & Last Mission

**Chapter 4  
First & Last Mission**

**discb: **Shimmer may have been replaced by Jinx, but they were both comic book characters at one point or another attached to the Fearsome Five (along with Gizmo, Mammoth, Dr. Arthur Light, and Psimon). Jinx had joined the group after it had formed when she was freed from STAR Labs (in the comics). The Fearsome Five did make an appearance in the _Teen Titans Go!_ comics, with Jinx a double agent installed by the Titans to help defeat the group (with Light surrendering after seeing Raven). Ultimately, in the series, Shimmer never made an appearance while Gizmo, Mammoth, Jinx, and Dr. Light were frequent villains and Psimon made an appearance in the season 5 finale arc (teaming up with Kyd Wykkyd against Raven). It would certainly be interesting to see how the show would have changed Shimmer (who could temporarily change the properties of compounds or elements near her).

**Note: **We'll be skipping a couple of months ahead from November, largely in interest of moving the plot forward. Expect quite a few time jumps throughout the course of the story, as we can't cover _everything_ in the five-year gap, such as the basic and extra training (I'll glance over that).

**Disclaimer: **Did Raven ever use the magic taught to her by Malchior outside of _Spellbound_? If not, I don't own the Teen Titans franchise; it belongs to DC Entertainment, Glen Murakami, and Warner Bros., nor do I own the _Misunderstandings_ story, which belongs to SilentlyWatches.

* * *

It was now early February, and training was wrapping up for Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, and Raven. The four had each passed their Basic evaluation and were almost finished with their specialist training. At the moment, Jinx was training in strategic planning under Sergeant Major Levin and in alchemy under Master Sergeant Alexis, also known as Queen, a blind witch. With these new trainings, Jinx was improving her skills at leader and planning, which would come in handy in the field, and alchemy was giving her a medium for which to use her more-limited magic. These specialized trainings based entirely upon their aptitudes and the results of their Basic.

Raven was getting training in illusions and glamours under Staff Sergeant Henley, also known as Firebird, a sorceress and member of the Eldritch Enclave. With this training, Raven could effectively disguise her obvious appearance and do the same with her teammates - an invaluable skill. She also got some advanced magic training (learning a couple of new spells) from Firebird.

Gizmo was getting trained in new computer skills under Warrant Officer Beldon, improving his hacking ability by teaching him to work with new systems, as well as how to operate drones. At the research and development lab at Fort Pell, Gizmo had built a couple of drones that he expected to be useful in some of their operations, in tasks such as assault, escort, capture, and supply. He was also working with the equipment designs that Raven had downloaded from the Titan mainframe, examining the Red-X suit and working on redesigning it for a less risky use.

Mammoth was receiving more extensive training in firearms and gadgets under Corporal White. Of the four of them, Mammoth seemed the most suited for firearm usage (even though Raven was the best shot of the four, as she could use her powers to guide a .308-caliber bullet up to a four and a half miles away to her target). Mammoth also was building up his strength and improving his martial arts under Sergeant Miyagi.

Once their training was done, they would be eventually hired for their first mission in the field, something they would have to do for the next six years to fully earn their pardons.

* * *

Over in Steel City, things continued to be bad for the Titans East. After accidentally killing Trident back in November, Speedy was suspended from active duty until the Justice League completed its investigation into him that was being headed by the Martian Manhunter. It was thus his decision on whether or not Speedy could return to duty, depending on whether or not J'onn thought he was a threat to himself or others.

Without Speedy on their roster, the Titans East were beginning to struggle against a wave of more elite criminals that were all but declaring war on the city. Bumblebee thought, _We need this investigation over, or else we're totally screwed. Damn you, Roy. Why couldn't your arrow have hit where it was aimed at, and not gone ridiculously high?_

Bumblebee wasn't the only one who wanted the investigation over - in addition to Mas y Menos and Aqualad, Robin really wanted the League out of the Titans. He wanted the League to think they could handle it, but whenever they screwed up, the League had to come in to interfere with their work. It was ticking Robin off severely as things continued to get worse for him. Raven was nowhere to be found (and he couldn't go after her legally) and Slade was still on the loose.

And with the Martian Manhunter, he is a bit more impartial, taking a while to fully comprehend what was happening before making a decision - that is why it was February and Speedy was still under Justice League investigation. As for Speedy, the archer was beating himself up over his mistake - he knew he could have hit the trident without causing permanent damage to Trident. Unfortunately, he didn't and his mistake cost Trident his life. As a Titan, he made a vow not to kill, a rule that was carried over from the Justice League - and breaking that vow meant that if the Manhunter ruled that Speedy was a danger, he would be kicked out of the Titans and probably imprisoned on manslaughter charges.

* * *

It was now the middle of February, actually it was February 17. The four of them - Jinx, Raven, Gizmo, and Mammoth had finally completed their specialist training. They were now about to meet with their new handler who would give them more information about how they would be contacted for a job and any other rules.

They were in the waiting room of the officer's headquarters, where the commanding officers of the Perseus Initiative met with armed personnel and non-combatants, giving assignments for the teams of the Perseus Initiative and strategizing.

After a couple of minutes of waiting in the office, the secretary at the desk said, "Your handler will see you now."

Each of them got up and began walking into their handler's office, only to be surprised as to who their handler was - a man they were not expecting. Upon entering, Jinx exclaimed in shock, "Colonel Ruiz? You're our handler?"

Ruiz responded, "Yes, I am Miss Dasgupta. Come in, sit down. We have business to discuss."

With that, they each sat down, wearing their military clothing, with Mammoth and Gizmo each taking the end-seats while Jinx and Raven took the center.

Jinx asked, "Well, first, why are you our handler? I thought Hollingsworth was our boss."

Ruiz answered, "For all purposes on base and in combat, Hollingsworth is your commanding officer. I, however, am the one that gives you your missions and assignments. Hollingsworth generally won't be in combat, but after a mission, you are to report back to him for paperwork. And as for why I'm your handler, I got reassigned from recruitment. They felt I was the best one to handle you four."

Gizmo asked, "How many handlers are there for Perseus?"

Ruiz replied, "Four. The others are Colonel Ulysses Sherman, Lieutenant Colonel Eric Agstrom, and Colonel Phillip Fuller. We are assigned the teams based upon our skills and the skills of each unit. The other handler, Colonel Joshua Ballard, was transferred to recruitment, seeing as he couldn't handle this type of work."

Raven inquired, "What was the reason you called us here today?"

"Because, Miss Roth, you and your associates have successfully completed your training. You are all official members of the Perseus Initiative. And also you have your first assignment."

Jinx asked, "So, Colonel, what is it?"

Ruiz explained, "Sergeant Dasgupta, you are to lead your team on a rescue mission in Jakarta, Java Island, Indonesia." He continued as he slid the folder of the mission towards the four of them, "Five American missionaries on a relief mission to the city were abducted by armed pirates. They are heavily armed and extremely dangerous. You are to rescue the missionaries and bring them back. All of them. You move out in seventy-two hours. Understood?"

Jinx responded, "Yes, sir. Wait, you said Sergeant Dasgupta?"

"Well as the leader of this team, you are a sergeant. Leader of Covert Metahuman Team Twenty-Six. I'll leave it to you to come up with a code name. Dismissed."

With that, the four of them got up from their chairs and left Ruiz's office, to get ready for their first mission.

* * *

Jinx, Raven, Gizmo, and Mammoth were currently in a Fort Pell planning center, looking at a satellite depiction of their mission. They were examining the massive frigate that the pirates were holding the five missionaries - at least three dozen pirates armed with assault rifles and machetes on a four-story frigate constantly on the move loaded up with munitions and explosives.

Mammoth said, "So we're going to take down a frigate with close to forty armed guards, machine guns, rockets, and heavy security. This shouldn't even be possible."

Raven noted, "However, we have to do this to save them. Failure's not an option. Aerial insertion is impossible, as they've got anti-air. I can't teleport inside the ship unless I know exactly everything. We're going to need to sweep through the ship to find the missionaries."

Gizmo commented, "But the second we show ourselves, those fuckers will kill the missionaries. Mission failed."

Jinx asked, "But what if they don't know we're there? What's the security like on the frigate?"

Gizmo continued to examine the security system on board the frigate, explaining, "Security cameras out in front and all across the ship. The monitors feed into a feed room on the bridge. I might be able to jam the cameras but I need to be close to the bridge in order to do so."

Raven added, "If we can jam the cameras, then we will be able to move through the ship without alerts. We just need to stay quiet."

Jinx said, "Suppressed weapons only. We need to stay as quiet as possible. Giz, you're going to need to fly onto the ship from behind and take out their surveillance."

Raven suggested, "I can set Gizmo on his path. Then we can also take the active security footage to find the missionaries. Once I know where they are, I can get in and free them."

Jinx noted, "Great thinking, Rae. Once we get them out, we have to sink the frigate. Baran, you'll need to get in and sabotage the engines, set a bomb to detonate."

Mammoth nooded, "Got it, Jinx. We'll need exfil, though. As much as I believe in Raven's teleportation, I don't think she'd be able to teleport them out and get back to us quick enough."

Gizmo suggested, "Maybe I can get a drone to exfil us. But we'll need to disable the anti-air before the drone can get in. They aren't cheap, ya know?"

Jinx explained, "Leave that to me. I'll take out the anti-air. Once that goes, we can call in exfiltration, get out and send those pirates down to their watery graves. Now, let's get the order down."

Raven suggested, "Gizmo needs to get onto the ship first so we can disable the security and get our own eyes in the field."

Gizmo noted, "Then we need to disable the anti-air as quietly as we can. I'm sure Jinx can take the gunners out without raising a sound."

Jinx snorted, "Ya got that right. Then, Raven goes in to spring the missionaries."

Mammoth said, "Then I take down the ship before we all get out. We all set?"

Raven urged, "No, we actually have one more thing to decide."

Gizmo asked, "What?"

Jinx replied, "Our code name. I actually have an idea for that." With that, Jinx whispered into Raven's ear her idea for the team codename. Raven nodded in recognition, accepting the name Jinx chose.

* * *

Three days later, Covert Metahuman Team 26 was about to deploy on their first mission. The five missionaries were still alive as were the forty or so pirates guarding them. Failure was not an option for them - if they failed this mission, God only knows what reprecussions they would face. They had to succeed, which meant their plan had to work down to the letter.

Before they left, they were met by Colonel Ruiz, who wished them, "Good luck. Move out."

With that, Raven engulfed the others in her soul-self and flew them to a small boat roughly ten miles away from the freighter they were targeting. They needed to get ready as quickly as possible before they went after the ship. Their boat was the assigned rendezvous point for the team, where they were to get ready and stocked up.

Mammoth grabbed the charges required for detonating the ship, placing them in his belt as he inspected a suppressed Heckler & Koch HK416, placing it on his back as he picked up a silenced light machine gun, placing it in his hands. Gizmo got his laptop computer and wireless modem from the boat, so he could hack into the ship's security camera system and shut it down while locating the missionaries.

The pilot of the boat said, "Return the missionaries here, and make sure you and they all come back alive. Colonel's orders. Now move out."

Their mission having begun, Raven quickly grabbed Gizmo and flew him towards the frigate, the _Parry_, which had been reported stolen the year ago off the coast of Papua New Guinea. After a couple of minutes, the two had arrived behind the frigate, staying out of sight from the pirates that are guarding the frigate. Meanwhile, Jinx and Mammoth had taken a Zodiac that had been modified to later function as an aircraft drone. Once the anti-aircraft weapons were disabled, they could convert it into the drone that would provide their exfiltration. Jinx thought, _Thank God that Giz is such a genius and a designer - we can get onto the ship and get air exfil, both from the same vehicle._

Raven and Gizmo landed on the top of the frigate, hiding behind an air vent to avoid being spotted by the guards on the ground. Raven urged, "Gizmo, hack in."

Gizmo pulled out his laptop and placed it on the ground, opening it (which proceeded to activate the laptop) before hooking it up to the wireless modem, which would extend its range and connect it to the frigate without being detected. Gizmo began hacking into the frigate computer system, getting feed from the video cameras to see just who was where and were they had to go to find the missionaries, as well as guard positions.

Gizmo whispered to Raven, "I found the missionaries. Three guards surrounding them. Looks like they are in what appears to be a storage room. Just can't tell which one. Damned faded writing."

Raven zoomed in closer using her enhanced demonic senses, commenting, "It's not a storage room. It's a bunk room, where some of the old crew slept. Pull up a design of the ship, and I can find the exact room. Jinx, get ready against the anti-air."

Jinx responded from her earpiece next to the ship, "Got it. Mammoth, gimme a lift."

Mammoth stood up, and Jinx then jumped onto the giant's arms before leaping onto the frigate, hanging from the side beneath the deck to avoid detection. Gizmo noted, "Ready to jam the cameras."

Jinx ordered, "Gizmo, do it."

Gizmo pressed some buttons on the laptop and instantly the camera feed going to the bridge shut down while Gizmo's feed remained clear. With that, Jinx leaped up onto the deck of the frigate and fired off her hexes at the operators of the anti-aircraft guns. Each pirate went down as a hex impacted each one of them in the chest, resulting in a wide array of deaths - one suffered a fatal stroke, another suffered a broken leg that caused him to plummet off of the deck and drown, another had a heart attack. Bottom line: all of the pirates on the deck were dead and their anti-air weapons were disabled.

After seeing the guns were down, Raven went down to find the missionaries, in Bunk Room D. Each missionary was blinded, gagged, and binded so they could not see, move, or beg. Three guards armed with assault rifles were looking over them, given an order to kill them if the head pirate says so - they needed the missionaries alive for a ransom payment (they demanded $3 million per missionary).

Fortunately for the team, Gizmo jamming the cameras also triggered a jam in the communications that kept the pirates from communicating from each other - they couldn't give the order to kill the missionaries, which made things easier for the team.

After the anti-air was disabled and Jinx saw Raven fly down to get the hostages, Jinx commanded, "Mammoth, you're up."

The drone soon flew up from the sea onto the deck, where Mammoth was waiting with his machine gun and assault rifle. When the pirates realized something was up, they opened the windows to shoot down the intruders.

Unfortunately for them, Mammoth fired a burst of machine gun fire that killed the pirates on the bridge. Mammoth said, "Got them, Sarge."

Jinx commented, "Good work, let's continue."

Raven soon arrived at Bunk Room D, using her empathy to detect the honey of fear in the hostages, the chocolate of pleasure, and the mint of confidence - this was the room where the missionaries were being held.

Raven phased into the door and began dispatching the three pirates. The first pirate met Raven's talons in the chest, killing him. The second pirate raised his gun at Raven only to have it kicked out of his hands and encased in a black glow. The gun fired on the third pirate, mowing him down in a barrage of 7.62x39mm bullets. Once those two pirates were down, the last surviving pirate was encased in a glow of black before Raven quietly uttered, "Khazo kifari."

The last pirate was soon turned into ash. The spell Raven dictated to kill said pirate was one that Firebird had taught her - and one she remembered from Malchior. The original spell was too much for Raven to handle, but now that her emotions were stabilized, she could use all of Malchior's spells without any chance of losing control and causing unintentional damage.

With the three pirates dead, Raven grabbed the five missionaries and engulfed them in her soul-self before flying them out to the boat where they had started the mission. Raven told the pilot, "Here are the missionaries. They'll need trauma care. Their captivity did a lot of damage to them."

The pilot acknowledged, "Thank you, Corporal Roth."

Mammoth continued through the frigate, gunning down every pirate on board that he saw as he made his way to the engines, intending to plant the bomb before leaving with Jinx and Gizmo.

Gizmo, meanwhile, was making his way down the ship back to the deck for their exfiltration as Jinx continued to disable the anti-air guns and the pirates that were scrambling out to preserve their now fledgling operation. They wanted to ensure that even if they went down, their attackers went down with him.

Mammoth arrived at the engine room and planted the explosives inside, setting them to detonate in three minutes, giving him enough time to get back to the deck and far enough from the explosives before they detonate and take down the ship.

After delivering the missionaries to the ship, Raven went back to the frigate as Mammoth headed back to the deck as the drone headed from the ground to the deck, turning from a Zodiac to a small airship that could carry the four of them.

Raven grabbed onto Mammoth and brought him onto the deck where Jinx and Gizmo were already waiting. Jinx asked, "Missionaries secure?"

Raven replied, "Yes. All five are alive. Are we ready to go?"

Mammoth answered, "Yes. Explosives will detonate in sixty seconds."

Gizmo suggested, "Then we oughta get our asses out of here."

With that suggestion, Gizmo, Mammoth, and Jinx got onto the Zodiac flying drone while Raven provided a barrier so the impact would not cause any damage to the drone or to the four of them.

The drone took off and flew away from the frigate, landing on the water and reconverting into the Zodiac, sailing its way back to the ship where the pilot and the missionaries were waiting.

As they got back to the ship, the four of them looked as the explosives in the engine room detonated, causing a massive explosion near the bridge. The frigate soon began to split apart as the hull began to bend harshly, sinking into the deep ocean to never be seen again, taking forty bodies with it.

* * *

After delivering the missionaries back to Jakarta, where they would be flown back to the states for medical treatment (and though Raven offered to teleport them back, the missionaries respectfully declined), the team returned to Fort Pell to meet with Colonel Ruiz.

In the office with Ruiz, he noted, "You got the five missionaries - all alive. Forty dead pirates. Do you think the mission is accomplished?"

Jinx asked, "That depends. Was there an objective we missed?"

Ruiz answered, "No. Mission accomplished. You truly are Perseus material. Question is, what's your codename, Sergeant Dasgupta?"

Jinx replied, "Team Black Magic. That's our codename."

"Sounds appropriate. There's someone I'd like you to meet. Come in, sir."

With that, the four turned around to see a high-ranking military officer walk into their handler's office. Ruiz introduced, "Team Black Magic, I'd like to introduce you to General Lucas Cambridge, the founder and head of the Perseus Initiative."

General Cambridge said, "Team Black Magic, you have done your country a great service. I expect outstanding things from you four. A brute, a brilliant hacker, a bad luck charm, and a half-demon sorceress. And yes, Raven, we know your secret. The Titan archives are quite useful."

Raven asked, "How did you get inside of those? They're virtually impregnable to exterior hacks."

Cambridge smirked, "Private O'Jeneus did it with weaker tech. Imagine what the United States Army can do with superior technology. That answer your question, Corporal Roth?"

Raven answered, "It does, sir."

"Any way, Sergeant Dasgupta, do you know any other associates that would like to join the initiative?"

Jinx responded, "I don't know, sir. The Headmistress only suggested a couple of us for this operation, and most of them are currently residing in the defunct Brotherhood of Evil base in Paris in cyrostasis."

"Do you think they would want to join?"

"I cannot vouch for the status of my former schoolmates, General. However, after the events of the Brotherhood battle, I do have my doubts that most of them would not side with me given my betrayal of the HIVE for the Titans."

"Okay then, Corporal Roth, do you know any associates that would like the initiative?"

"By now, sir, the Titans know what happened, and from what I've heard, it's a pretty even split. Half of them would take my side, the other half would not. The problem is that I am not exactly sure of which half. Richard, Koriand'r, and Garfield all would not while Victor and Lisa may."

"Very well, then. Team Black Magic, you are dismissed. Return to your quarters."

With that, General Cambridge left the Colonel's office, soon followed by the other members of Team Black Magic.

* * *

Over with the Titans, Robin was still awaiting the results of the Justice League investigation into Speedy. The stress was really acting on the Boy Wonder as what he had created was falling apart before his eyes - two Titans had left over the course of the year, including one of the founders after they "betrayed" the team, with another facing a potential imprisonment.

He was sitting on the couch, struggling to maintain what little composure he had remaining. This was also affecting his relationship with Starfire, who wanted to get closer with her boyfriend, though she understood that the team could not fall apart, leaving her with nowhere to go. She also had her own problems - specifically with the Tamaranean advisors who were demanding she take the throne from Galfore, her k'norfka.

As for the changeling Beast Boy, he was still trying to win back Terra, who was now Lisa. He seemed to keep forgetting that she had no memory of her life as Terra, no memory of who her parents were, her birthday, or her prior relationships with the Titans and to Slade.

Things were about to get a heck of a lot worse as the Titans got a call from an unknown source, one that the Titans hated more than anything else. Cyborg and Lisa came in once they heard the call was incoming. Robin answered the call and growled, "Slade" once he saw who was on the monitor.

_"Evening, Titans. I see you have moved on after the departure of your demonling."_

Robin snarled, "What do you want, Slade? Why are you coming back? Can't you just stay down?"

_"No, Robin. I can't stay down. As for why I came back, I'm sure you can figure it out. You should have figured it out by now, young Titans. I sent a lot of clues your way."_

Beast Boy realized, "You've been upgrading those villains, haven't you? Well, it's done. Surrender."

_"You want to stop me? Go ahead, trace this call, find my location, and if you can beat me, game over. I'll no longer be a threat to you. Either way, I doubt you will ever see me again."_

Robin asked, "Cyborg, are you tracing the call?"

Cyborg said, "Yes. He's routing his call through a satellite. From there, he's at the warehouses downtown. Number Ten."

"Titans go."

With that, the Titans rushed to the T-Car so they could try to finally take down Slade. Robin would not allow the one-eyed criminal mastermind to escape. He would be taken down no matter what - one more enemy down, the most notorious criminal in the city would fall as would the crime rate once the kingpin falls.

The T-Car quickly moved through the streets, rushing to confront Slade, for causing so much destruction, for trying to bring about the apocalypse, for killing so many people, for forcing the rift between the Titans.

After seven minutes of incredibly rapid movement, at close to ninety-five miles an hour, the T-Car arrived at Warehouse #10, where Slade was awaiting the Titans. Whatever he was planning, Robin was certain it was over. It had to be.

The Titans got out of the car, moving to the warehouse for what Robin hoped to be the final confrontation. He thought, _Once he's down, Raven will regret betraying us._

Robin kicked the door open, pulling out his bo-staff and running in, looking for where Slade was hiding. Little did he know, the criminal mastermind had set up traps.

By the time he had gotten past the first window, he was met with a paint can to the head that knocked him down onto the ground. Robin stumbled onto the ground only to be met with a boot to his chest - Slade's boot. Robin soon began mentally cursing himself for falling so easily into Slade's trap. _I fucked up big time here, now he's gonna get away._

Slade greeted, "Hello, Robin. I think you need a lesson in awareness. Otherwise you'd be on top of me."

Starfire, in anger, launched a massive starbolt that sent Slade flying off of Robin before moving in to attack. Slade ducked to dodge one of her starbolts before backflipping away, leaving Starfire to pursue him. Unfortunately for her, she was met with iron girders that proceeded to bound her by the neck, crashing her into a wall.

As she struggled to break free, Beast Boy charged at Slade, turning into a rhino, trying to impale Slade with his horn. Much like Robin and Starfire, Beast Boy stood no chance against Slade. Slade commented, "Ah, Beast Boy. Still as predictable as ever, just like Robin and Starfire."

Slade kicked Beast Boy in the stomach, turning him into a human before sliding him away towards Starfire, seriously dazed. As he looked over at the two, he was met with an unexpected surprise from Lisa as his feet were soon encased in rock.

Before he could move away, Cyborg fired his sonic cannon, hitting Slade in the chest and causing him to fall onto the ground. Lisa tried to encase Slade again in rock but he jumped to dodge her rocks. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon but Slade dodged it just as well.

Lisa aimed a rock at Slade but he then pounced on her, trapping her onto the ground. Slade told her, "Ah Terra, or would you prefer, Lisa? Do you remember what we did together? How I pleased you? How you desired me? If you want it, I can forget our _rocky_ past. You can be my apprentice again. We can do it again. We can conquer the city. You never cared about your friends, isn't that right, Lisa?"

Lisa grumbled, "Go fuck yourself, Deathstroke."

Slade shouted, "Insolent bitch" before he was slid away by a rock wall put up by Lisa. He went back at Lisa but was met with a sonic cannon blast to his mask. Cyborg fired again at the mask, trying to unveil who Slade truly was - having only shot off a piece of the back of the mask, revealing part of Slade's neck.

However, Slade grabbed an awl and threw it at Cyborg, impacting him in his arm joint, causing his sonic cannon to power down. Slade charged back at Cyborg, punching him repeatedly about the head and chest before he was blasted away from Cyborg with a bird-a-rang.

Robin came back up and launched himself with his bo-staff, landing in front of Slade to deliver more blows to the mastermind. However, Slade quickly responded and threw Robin against a wall, getting close to killing him had it not been for Beast Boy's timely actions in blocking the Boy Wonder from becoming splattered on the wall.

Beast Boy and Robin soon got Starfire out of Slade's trap and they then went after Slade, who concealed himself in the shadows. He pounced on each Titan - Starfire first by delivering a kick to her head, slamming her onto the ground. He then moved on Beast Boy, grabbing him by the neck before sending him away from the other Titans.

Robin turned around and tried to attack Slade. Unfortunately, Slade just needed to sent one punch to Robin's skull that sent him on the ground.

Lisa sent more rocks at Slade, who dodged them before throwing a knife at Lisa. She quickly ducked but learned that it wasn't a knife - it was an explosive. She moved away as the knife detonated, trapping her leg underneath the metal housing, hooking up her leg such that she could not escape.

Slade commented, "Disappointing, Titans. I was expecting more out of you, or I guess that you still are lacking your heavy hitter Raven. Oh well, ta."

With that, Slade dropped a smoke grenade onto the ground that engulfed him in a cloud of smoke. Robin ran up to catch Slade, only to find that he was already gone. Robin screamed in anger, his last chance at catching Slade now gone as he vanished, far away from the Titans.

Robin growled, "Back to the Tower. We are going to talk about this."

As Cyborg helped Lisa out of the sheet metal that encased her legs, Lisa commented, "Robin's gonna have a field day with us. Things are going to get a helluva lot worse, aren't they?"

Cyborg replied, "Yep, Lisa. That's pretty much it."

* * *

Over in Steel City, much like with Robin, the Titans East were anxiously awaiting the results of the Justice League investigation. It had taken three months and they still weren't finished - everyone had been questioned non-stop about Speedy, going over information over and over again. It was taking its toll on the Titans East. They needed it to be over.

Speedy and Aqualad were on the couch, waiting for Bumblebee and Mas y Menos, as Aqualad got word that the investigation had reached its conclusion - and everyone was hoping that it was over.

Bumblebee finally arrived with Mas y Menos, asking, "Okay, Roy, Garth, what's going on?"

Speedy responded, "I think J'onn has finally reached his verdict. I think the investigation is over."

Bumblebee thought, _It damn well better be._

The television monitor came on, and the Martian Manhunter appeared. Bumblebee asked him, "So, what is the purpose of your call?"

J'onn answered, _"The Justice League has reached its verdict on the death of Trident. Trident's death was a negilient homicide on part of Roy Harper. We have evaluated the scene and found in the end that Speedy cannot be faulted for Trident's death for there were secondary causes involved. Somebody had manipulated the arrow from outside the Waste Disposal Plant. Justice League out."_

The television screen turned off, with Speedy breathing a sigh of relief that he was found not guilty in Trident's death. Bumblebee told Speedy, "You may have gotten a pass this time, but you better get your act together because they will not give you a second chance. I guarantee it."

Bumblebee walked away from Speedy and Aqualad as Mas y Menos zipped out of the room. Aqualad explained, "We got lucky this time. Roy, don't screw this up. You can't be protected forever."

Aqualad left the room, leaving Speedy to think about what Bumblebee and Aqualad had said to him.

* * *

**Team Black Magic has officially kicked off while the Titans just suffered a major blow and the Titans East are now trying to get themselves together after Speedy was let off the hook. Up next: more situations emerge for the Titans and one mission turns bad for Team Black Magic.**

**storytell18 out.**


	5. Chapter 5: Titans Worsen

**Chapter 5  
Titans Worsen**

**discb:** We'll get to what happened that resulted in Gizmo's limp - it will happen in _one _mission, as my story adheres to SilentlyWatches's universe in utmost order (or at least I think it does).

**The Sinful**: If you recall chapter 14 in _Consequence of Misunderstandings_ (_Siege of the HIVE_), Robin/Nightwing was angered when he learned that Team Black Magic was intending on killing Slade and the HIVE - as a vigilante, Robin was raised not to kill, but to let them live in order to try them. And for Lisa, Slade did something to her, something not pleasant as implied by their conversation, and tried to kill her along with the four remaining core Titans. The conversation between the Titans is not going to be pleasant, to say the least of it. Unfortunately for them, the prisons don't hold as well as they hope. And regarding the Tropes page for the _Misunderstandings_ series, it could definitely use some more work - there are some elements still missing from that page.

**OMAC001**: Team Black Magic is going to have a lot more missions, though my story won't cover all of them - I don't think I can reasonably cover five years in this story, so a lot of elements will be skipped over - a number of missions will not be shown (remember the references to missions in Tehran and Libya - I won't be showing them). However, I will show some of them (like Nicaragua and especially the Brotherhood of Evil one, which will come at the end of the story).

**Concolor44: **The fact that Robin cannot see past his own shortcomings is one of his major flaws, and he believes he is the paragon of virtue and is always right (look at chapter 4 of _Consequence of Misunderstandings_ to support this). It seems that Robin has some major ego problems, and he does have jerk-ish, if not asshole like qualities. The "flavors" come back from SilentlyWatches's Misunderstandings duology, where Raven's empathy caused her to sense emotions with her tongue (such as honey (fear) and tin (concern)). I also added a few of my own for emotions that weren't seen, such as mushrooms of depression. As a demonling, it should be figured that Raven gained some new tricks with her body - such as the claws and her hair (Jinx and Mammoth got haircuts while Raven didn't - I had to provide an explanation for that, so I needed a way to make her hair a practicality in the field). As for Speedy, as Raven mentioned in chapter 17 of _Coincidence_, the Titans operate outside the police system as vigilantes, and seeing how involved the Justice League was in their creation, the Titans had to go by the no killing rule. The police couldn't stop him, so the Titans East were called in. Let's say that this wasn't the first time Speedy got into trouble, and the League just wants to be precise with what happened - they need to know everything about their subsidiary teams, but this precision does take quite a bit of time (younger heroes have to be tested more, since they cannot be easily read and the League doesn't take what they say at face value). As the Justice League supersedes the Titans, Speedy would be subject to a League investigation. Raven mentioned that Mumbo took the risk of physical injury when he committed the robbery after she accidentally cut off his hand (chapter 5 of _Coincidence_), but still, let's say Bumblebee has some of Robin's flaws. Robin was too wedged in his old mindset, thinking he could go after Slade alone (much like he thought that he could take down Raven), which leads into the opening argument of this chapter. And regarding the very long length of this response, you did submit four reviews fairly quickly of each other after chapter 4, so I had to be thorough in responding to everything you said.

**Disclaimer**: Did the Titans, who regularly thwarted bank robberies and lab heists, ever face the seedier side of normal criminal enterprises, such as drugs? If not, I don't own the Teen Titans franchise; it belongs to DC Entertainment, Glen Murakami, and Warner Bros., nor do I own the _Misunderstandings_ story, which belongs to SilentlyWatches.

* * *

The Titans were still reeling over after their humiliating defeat against Slade. Now they were never going to find him, never going to catch him. He could go underground for indefinite amounts of time. They could only find Slade if he wanted to be found or they simply got lucky. They were not going to get lucky this time.

Robin was angered by the failure and called in the other Titans to have a meeting on how they yet again got handily crushed by Slade. Robin was the most infuriated, though that was just an enormous understatement - no words could describe the unprecedented rage that flew through each and every one of his blood cells.

Regarding the other Titans, Cyborg was trying to ease the clashing Titans, attempting to act as a peacekeeper but soon found himself on Lisa's side against Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy - the same triumvirate that unsuccessfully tried to bring in Raven for trying to leave.

Robin yelled out, "How the hell did Slade get past us? We had the element of surprise!"

Cyborg responded, "Well, did it go through your skull that Slade expected us. He had traps set up, and if you weren't the boneheaded leader you are, we might have been able to beat him. We went through his playbook just like he wanted us to. There's a reason that he hasn't been captured."

Beast Boy commented, "Yeah, because you aren't willing to go through with force."

Lisa screeched, "How can you say that when you were refusing to use force? We couldn't take him alive. The only time that Slade was actually taken down was when _Terra sent him down a fucking volcano!_"

Starfire noted, "Well maybe you should not have distracted by Slade reminding you of the treachery you committed."

"I don't even remember what the hell he did with Terra in my former life. How can you say that when you were distracted by your boy-toy Robin? How you fell into his trap just as much as he did?"

"Well you should have hit him harder, dudes. We could have finally beaten that asshole! Finally brought him down."

"Way to speak grass stain, especially since he took you out before you could even land a blow on him."

"Well at least we are still alive. But if it weren't for me, you would be dead Robin!"

"Well maybe had your sensors detected the traps before, Cyborg, Love Robin would not have been impacted."

"Yeah, Cyborg, you should have detected those traps and then we could have had the advantage!"

"Well you barged in head first before I could even run a full analysis. You are a bone-headed dick, Robin. What else are you to expect when fighting Deathstroke? Of course he was going to have traps up."

"He never had traps up when we normally encountered him, dudes. Why would tonight be any different?"

"Because it was our last chance at getting him! He always has tricks up his sleve, and he had them tonight. When he had a Chronoton Detonator, it was a decoy to turn Robin into his apprentice. When he attacked the diamond mine, he was trying to force Terra to become his apprentice. When his worms attacked the Tower, it was so Terra could infiltrate us. When he supposedly appeared trying to trigger an earthquake, it was just a hallucination on Slade's part. You should have been more careful! No wonder Raven quit because she couldn't deal with your idiotic plans. Maybe if we had her, we could have finally taken him down."

"Quiet! Is this how we should be handling this sort of thing? Arguing like bitches over shoes? Slade kicked our asses and we obviously fucked this up. Now, we need to get through this. And we should start by stopping this pointless argument! Capiche?"

The other Titans were obviously stunned by Lisa's remark - it certainly sounded like Raven. Her bluntness was certainly similar, but she was obviously much more obscene. Her point was obviously not lost on the Titans though.

"Lisa's right, guys. As much as I'd hate to admit it, we need to stop arguing about this."

* * *

It's now been two weeks since Slade had escaped the Titans' grasp once again and two weeks since Speedy was acquitted in the Justice League investigation of Trident's death. It had taken four months for the League investigation to be completed, since the Martian Manhunter could not read Speedy to truly determine if Trident's death had been an accident, and then for the League to decide whether Speedy was liable.

Titans East was beginning to stabilize again as Speedy was once again allowed on field duty. However, that didn't stop Bumblebee from keeping a very tight eye on the archer. She really did not want the team to fall apart because the dick on her team couldn't avoid unnecessary damage.

Over at their tower in Steel City, Bumblebee looked constantly ready to attack him with her stingers, especially when the two of them passed by each other. Speedy thought, _And things seemed bad between us before all of this shit went down. It's downright awful right about now._

What he needed was some air, some peace and quiet, some time away from Bumblebee and the other Titans. Speedy could not help but notice the similarities between himself and Raven. _Right now all I can reasonably hope for is that we avoid another splitting calamity for a while. _Another one was _going_ to happen, whether or not the Titans East had anything to say about it. The question that now plagued everyone's minds was when was it going to happen.

Speedy decided to go out, first going into his room to change into civilian clothes - he really did not want to be recognized as Speedy at the moment. Off went his red shirt, pants, armor, and arrow cache. And on went a pair of blue jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt, sunglasses, and a green sweatshirt plus sneakers. Of course, the archer did not completely disarm: he grabbed a switchblade and placed it in the sweatshirt for easy access in case he needed to defend himself. Speedy could certainly use a switchblade, but it didn't come quite as naturally to him as the bow came.

After finishing changing, he went down towards the garage and hopped onto his new motorcycle. While he was under suspension from field duty, Bumblebee and Aqualad bought him a run-down motorcycle that Speedy went to work repairing. Over the four month period that he was stuck at the Tower, he made considerable progress fixing up the bike and made it his own with red and black stripes plus a new engine that didn't run on gasoline (which Cyborg was more than courteous to provide).

Putting on his helmet, the archer sped out of the garage, quickly heading into Steel City. He didn't tell Bumblebee where he was going, nor did he inform her that he was headed out. He was really not in the mood for a lecture at the moment from his leader, but he was pretty certain that she wouldn't notice (or miss) his absence.

Jetting himself downtown, Speedy passed by the many industrial plants of Steel City, some of which continued to bustle whilst others were closed thanks to an economic downturn that started to plague the city. He went by the office buildings and other small businesses downtown. Normally when he passed by, he went to Manuel Excavador's Mexicano and got a fish taco (even though Aqualad condemned him for this). He had been getting food from there for over four years, even before the founding of Titans East.

However, Speedy was simply not hungry today. A lot still plagued his mind, especially with the now-complete Justice League investigation involving the death of Trident. While it had been ruled an accident, Speedy felt guilt over it, thinking that it was possibly done intentionally, that he decided to deliberately end Trident's life on behalf of his friend, Aqualad, who had more than his share of problems with the exiled Atlantean.

As he thought, Speedy realized that his thinking was distracting him from the road, so he decided to park his motorcycle at a nearby bike rack, making care to chain it up so tightly, nobody could get it. Cyborg's lesson regarding vehicular theft protection certainly proved valuable, as he did not want to have some low-level punk take his pride and glory.

After ensuring that his bike was secure, Speedy headed out to walk down Steel City, readying his switchblade in case somebody tried to get the jump on him. As he passed down the long bleak streets of his city, he continued to think. What he needed was something that could help him prevent more calamities like what had happened.

As he walked by a nearby alleyway, a voice with a heavy British accent shouted, "Hello, mister. Mind telling me why you're walking these parts?"

Speedy turned around to face the man, who had black hair, sunglasses, and what looked like a business suit. Speedy responded, "Just taking a stroll through the city. Need to clear my head."

"Well then, how about you try my new energy drink, Cohejuine [pronounced Co-heh-jew-een]? It will give you a sharp mind and certainly give you what you need to succeed in this city?"

"How much?"

"Five bucks, but how about this then? A dollar for the first drink. If you're not satisfied, I'll give you triple your money back. That sound reasonable?"

"Certainly, Mister..."

"Richards. Call me Mr. Richards."

"Okay then, Mr. Richards." Speedy handed Mr. Richards a dollar from his wallet and got a bottle of Cohejuine in return. Speedy opened the bottle and took a quick swig of the yellow liquid.

"How is it, lad?"

Speedy could barely put to words just how good the drink was, muttering "Wonderful. Give me another."

"As much as I'd like to, there are major side effects to rapid consumption. One a week should give you all of the benefits, and any more than that could be disastrous on your health."

"But?" Speedy guessed that Mr. Richards wasn't one to follow the rules.

"'ere's another bottle. That'll be five bucks."

Speedy gave Mr. Richards a five dollar bill from his wallet and got another bottle of Cohejuine in return. "I better tell my roomies about this."

However, Mr. Richards urged, "For the time being, how about we keep this between the two of us? They might get jealous of this before it hits the market."

"No problem. Now, I gotta get home."

With that, Speedy rushed away from the alleyway, intending to get to his motorcycle, which was still chained to the bike rack where he left it. Unseen and unheard by the archer, Mr. Richards said to himself, "You'll be back, my ducky."

* * *

It has been now four weeks since Team Black Magic had their first mission, and their first success - they had successfully liberated a group of missionaries from a frigate of armed pirates. They continued training and building their abilities as they awaited their next mission to be assigned.

Raven was communicating with Lisa about what had happened - she had heard about the fiasco with Slade and Speedy's pardon in the Justice League investigation. She thought, _Things have gone from bad to terrible with my departure. Something really screwed them up, it's like they can't think or act properly, like something seriously changed them._

However, that was not her problem nor was it a priority for her. Her priorities were with the Perseus Initiative and Team Black Magic, especially with her sweetheart Sergeant Nirupama Dasgupta, better known as Jinx.

In this time, Gizmo had begun work on the Red X suit designs that Raven had acquired from the Titan mainframe, examining the systems and weaponry. Gizmo immediately decided that before the suit was to be used, they had to scrap the xenothium power source, as it was too dangerous for usage in the suit - one bad shake could lead to calamity, not to mention that xenothium was a rather rare material.

He was also adapting the suit for a much larger individual, aka Mammoth, as the suit would do him the most benefit. Raven would not need the suit whatsoever and Jinx would risk breaking it, plus Gizmo doubted he would be in the field too much to use it (or even effectively).

Raven was also expanding her de-powered combat, looking for a weapon that would suit her needs. She wanted something that could be used to effectively attack while also work on defense.

However, they were soon informed through their alert pagers that Colonel Ruiz wanted to meet with them. Once they had passed their basic, they had been given pagers so they could be alerted if they were needed, whether it be by Lt. Hollingsworth, Colonel Ruiz, or any other superior officer.

With that, Raven immediately went to collecting the other members of her team so they could meet with their handler. Raven acquired Gizmo from the research and development lab, Mammoth from the gym, and Jinx from the alchemy lab and brought them to Colonel Ruiz's office.

The four soon arrived, having been called on such short notice. Ruiz began to explain, "We've got a major problem, one that we couldn't afford to wait to resolve."

Jinx asked, "What is it, Colonel?"

Ruiz replied, "A battalion of United Nations peacekeepers came under fire in Mosul, Iraq. The reason I called you in here was that we need you to provide support for them."

Raven inquired, "Why did you say this was urgent?"

Ruiz continued, "They are trying to prevent a major terrorist attack from going down. Mosul was the starting point for the terrorist force and the UN was trying to take them down before they moved."

Gizmo wondered, "What are we looking at if the terrorist force moves?"

Ruiz explained, "If they break out of Mosul, they will launch two autonomous drones at a peace delegation in Baghdad between us and the Iraqis. If this peace fails...well, I don't want to think of the consequences. You have ten minutes to get ready to move out."

The four of them each responded simultaneously with a "Yes, sir."

Team Black Magic quickly moved to be ready for mobilization into Mosul, moving to the equipment storage. They needed to decide what they needed to bring, and what they could bring. Gizmo had pulled up a holographic model of Mosul based on what satellites could pick up regarding what was going on. He said, "Drones would be useless, their controls could easily take them down."

Jinx said, "Baran, get weapons. You're infantry and providing cover fire. Giz, you'll need to try to disable their drone controls so they can't launch it even if they break out. Raven, you and I are going to flush the enemy out of their hidey holes. We've got a few minutes, so we need to get ready."

Mammoth went to a small armory in the storage, arming himself up with body armor, an M249 SAW machine gun, an M4A1 assault rifle, and two IMI Desert Eagle Mark XIX handguns, plus plenty of grenades. Gizmo got a laptop that would help him hack into the enemy drone controls, acting as a contingency should the terrorist force break out of Mosul. He also brought a Heckler & Koch UMP45 and a Claymore mine as protection if enemy troops came upon him, as well as body armor. Jinx and Raven simply went with body armor, given they could use their powers against the enemy combatants. While Raven did not need it, she was still ordered to wear it - military protocols.

Now all set, Raven engulfed the team in her soul-self and brought them over to Mosul (Colonel Ruiz had provided directions for her to get them to Mosul). Upon arriving, Raven set down Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth behind a building that had obvious signs of RPG fire as massive chunks had been blown out.

Almost immediately after, they soon began to face the brunt of machine gun fire on their position. Jinx quickly ordered, "Mammoth, provide cover fire. Gizmo, start work on shutting down those drones. Raven, we're going for the battalion."

With that, Mammoth quickly pulled out the M249 SAW and began laying out cover fire for Gizmo, suppressing two hostiles hiding in the second story of a nearby house. With that, Gizmo proceeded to run towards a nearby shack as he began to search for the controls for the drones.

Raven and Jinx soon met up with the peacekeepers, who had quickly been forced into cover behind several armored vehicles that had not been destroyed by RPG fire.

The head peacekeeper asked, "Who the hell are you?"

Jinx answered, "Your relief. Sergeant Nirupama Dasgupta, and this is Corporal Rachel Roth. We're here to help you take these fucks down. Sitrep?"

He responded, "They've got people all around the city. Half of our number is locked down on the other side by heavy machine gun fire. They've got civilians as human shields, so we can't flush them out with explosives."

Jinx pressed her earpiece and said, "Mammoth, avoid explosives unless you're sure no civvies would be in the vicinity of the blast.

_"Understood, Jinx."_

One soldier soon shouted, "Grenade!" as a hand grenade soon started to fly towards a group of soldiers. However, Raven used her powers to surround the grenade in black energy before sending it back to the thrower. It soon exploded, taking one hostile with it.

"I'll start sweeping the houses. Corporal, spring the other half of the group."

Raven nodded and soon proceeded to levitate over towards the blockaded group, who were hiding behind piles of wrecked automobiles that used to be their transport.

The head peacekeeper inquired, "You're not standard military, are you?" As if he needed to ask. Jinx replied, "What was your first clue? Now, let's clear the houses."

The head peacekeeper yelled out, "Pallo, Reinas, provide cover fire!"

Two soldiers soon opened fire on a machine gun window, temporarily holding him off as Jinx and the head peacekeeper, armed with a shotgun, proceeded to run towards one of the houses.

The door was locked, so after a hex from Jinx impacted it, the door fell down, enabling them to get through. Jinx held up a hex as a light, hoping to see who was there.

Soon after, one hostile tried to open fire with an assault rifle but soon was met with a hex to his chest, resulting in a fatal heart attack. Jinx proceeded to continue to navigate her way through the house, firing hexes at any enemy she saw.

One enemy tried to get the drop on Jinx, silently creeping up on her with a handgun, but the peacekeeper accompanied Jinx saw this and sent two rounds of buckshot into his chest, flattening him into the floor.

Gizmo made his way into one of the shacks, using his goggles (which were now tracking computer signals) to look for the controls for the drones. Eventually, he got a target lock on a shack roughly one hundred meters to his north. Uttering a "Gotcha", Gizmo quickly moved out towards the drone controller, slipping past the hostiles that loitered the city.

Arriving at the location of the drone controller, Gizmo said through his earpiece, "Okay, I found the drone controller. Avoid firing on the tan building with the green roof."

Jinx asked through the earpiece, _"Which one, Giz? There are at least a dozen tan buildings with green roofs."_

Gizmo responded, "The one next to the building with a scorched window."

Jinx relayed, _"Okay, I'm relaying it to friendlies now. The green roofed-building next to the scorched window. All friendlies avoid fire. We've got a friendly inside."_

With that, Gizmo eyed the drone controller and before going up to it, proceeded to plant his Claymore mine at the doorway, moving it so that it could only be seen from the side.

The Claymore planted, Gizmo went up to the drone controller and grabbed a cable wire, plugging it into his laptop as well as the controller. This soon gave Gizmo a direct view into the controller's coding software. Now, he could sabotage the codes, once he broke through the firewalls planted.

Meanwhile, Mammoth swept through the city, soon reaching a small group of soldiers under heavy fire at a nearby cloth store. Mammoth proceeded to send a barrage of 5.56mm rounds towards the hostiles opening fire from a nearby tan building with a green roof (not the same one Gizmo was currently at).

After finishing them, Mammoth threw a grenade at a nearby wagon that had several hostiles inside, blowing it up and killing them.

Raven arrived at the surrounded column and soon put her abilities to work. First, she attacked an RPG nest on a rooftop opening fire on the fledgling peacekeepers. Raven stabbed one with her claws, killing him before using her powers to create razors that stabbed the other two, killing them both.

She then proceeded to sweep through the rooftops, killing every hostile that she saw, whether it be with her magic or with her martial arts skills (as well as her claws and hair).

As the number of hostiles firing on the soldiers decreased, the peacekeepers began to return fire and break out, reuniting with the other peacekeepers. Raven slinked into a building where two hostiles were laying machine gun fire on the peacekeepers. She tapped the shoulder of one of the hostiles, and when he turned around, he was mortified when he saw Raven's four glowing eyes. The first hostile then proceeded to suffer a massive heart attack while the second tried to open fire, only to be blasted out of the window to his death.

Jinx and the head peacekeeper continued to move through the buildings, taking out the hostiles that lay within, passing from building to building thanks to Jinx's hexes that deconstructed the walls. Jinx's hexes handled most of the hostiles while the head peacekeeper finished off the rest, providing Jinx with cover for her rear.

Gizmo continued to work on hacking into the drone controller, making progress in burning through the firewalls that protected its internal software. He was soon interrupted from his duties when he heard his Claymore go off, causing him to turn his head as he saw the dead hostile that was blown up. Gizmo readied his UMP in case somebody else tried to get him.

Soon after, two more hostiles came through the door, trying to protect the drone controller from Gizmo's hacks. The tiny genius opened fire, but he couldn't handle the recoil of the gun, spraying the two hostiles dead before accidentally letting out a little extra lead onto the ceiling.

With them dead, Gizmo quickly continued work on the drone controller, hoping to be done before more of them came back to continue their assault. He watched as the percent of his hack completed - _Sixty-five percent, seventy-five percent, eighty percent, eighty-eight percent_.

Jinx asked through the earpiece, _"You almost finished taking out the controls?"_

Gizmo replied, "Almost in, and after that, it would be just a couple of buttons pressed to shut down the controller. A few minutes and their plan will be impossible."

_"Good work, now once you're done, meet me at..."_

Before Gizmo could hear the rest of Jinx's order, a hostile fired a Javelin at the building where Gizmo was working, causing a massive explosion that resulted in the entire building collapsing.

Gizmo tried to get out in time, but by the time he realized the rocket was coming, it wasn't soon enough as his entire left leg and part of his right leg were both caught in debris from the wall. Well, at least the controller was useless now, having been caught in the explosion. He screamed "Fuck" as his legs, now getting much more damaged, could not move.

Raven reported to Jinx through her earpiece, "We've got more hostiles headed our way. And they are much better armed."

Raven phased through the floor to avoid a Javelin aimed at her position. As another Javelin headed her way, Raven used her powers to grab the Javelin before sending it back against the utilizers, killing several instantly.

Hostiles soon began to flood the streets as the terrorist force just gained some allies, a few dozen more allies. Immediately, several peacekeepers were gunned down in the intensity of the fire as others were struck by the Javelin fire.

Jinx got onto the rooftops and as she dodged the waves of enemy assault rifle fire, sent hexes that proceeded to destroy the Javelins before they could impact. Mammoth soon came out and opened fire on the oncoming hostiles.

They charged on the peacekeepers, managing to take out several others (and land a couple of hits on Mammoth), but it ultimately did no good as the rest were soon wiped out by Raven in a sweep of black magic that left them all dead.

With the last of the terrorist force dead, Jinx asked, "Hey, where's Gizmo? Gizmo, check in. Gizmo?

Realizing Gizmo wasn't answering, she continued, "Raven, tan building with a green roof next to the scorched window. Gizmo's not responding."

Raven quickly flew over to the building fitting Jinx's description and discovered it in tatters with Gizmo struggling beneath the wreckage. Raven responded through her earpiece, "Jinx, Gizmo's been hit. Crushed under debris."

Raven went over to Gizmo before removing the debris from his legs and healing what damage that she could, stopping the bleeding at least. Gizmo continued to scream in pain as the trauma continued. Raven said, "I got you, Gizmo."

He added, "The pain's still there. Can't you heal it?"

A despondent Raven replied, "I could heal part of it, but it looks like your bones got hit pretty bad. I can't heal bone, not completely. That has to heal on its own." Raven remembered the time Robin broke his arm chasing down Johnny Rancid, how she couldn't fully heal the damage. She continued, "Come on, let's get back to base."

Raven engulfed herself and Gizmo in her soul-self as she went off to pick up Jinx and Mammoth and return to Fort Pell so Gizmo could retrieve medical treatment.

* * *

**Okay, Gizmo's been injured, the Titans are still having problems, and Speedy is starting down a path towards trouble. Up next: a battle between Raven and hell's forces, Speedy continues to slip, and Robin's actions threaten the unity of the Titans.**

**storytell18 out.**


End file.
